What we used to be
by pinkie0496
Summary: Troy and Gabriella were a happy married couple for the first seven months of their marriage. That is until Troy got a new job. He is now TOO focused on his career to pay the slightest attention towards Gabriella. What happens to this couple a year later?
1. Trailer

Authors Note: Hey guys, I'm starting a new story! It's not going to be THAT long, like probably 15 chapters at the most. **Heads up, the ending will surprise you all!** Please read and review it! Thanks!

Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. The married couple got married a year ago. They couldn't be more excited to start a new life with each other. Well, at least that's what Gabriella thought.

Troy's career took off seven months after he got married to Gabriella. He is now a well-known traveling lawyer. He travels around the country and sometimes even the world. He was very successful and thought he had the perfect life. The perfect job, a great house and not to mention his money. Was he forgetting something?

Gabriella Montez has been married to Troy Bolton has been married to Troy Bolton for a full year now. She has been working at a Children's hospital for five years now. She didn't really need the job because of Troy's job but, hey, she needed something to do while Troy was gone.

A year ago, after she got married, she thought she had a great life. A new house, a great job and don't forget about her loving husband. But now, everything's changed. After seven months of being married to Troy, Gabriella had noticed Troy had been acting different than before….

**~Six months after Troy and Gabriella got married~**

**Gabriella had just arrived home from the hospital. It was a pretty busy day and she was exhausted. She decided to come home earlier than usual to get away from the hectic building. She dropped her bags on the side table in the hallway and walked in the kitchen. In the kitchen Gabriella saw Troy standing over the stove stirring a pot of who knows what. Gabriella smiled before walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist and placing them on his torso. **

"**What are you doing, babe?" Gabriella asked.**

"**What are you doing home so early?" Troy asked, disappointed. **

"**Oh, did I ruin something?" Gabriella questioned nervously and then glanced down to see that Troy was wearing a button-shirt and some slacks. It was a bit dressier than what he usually wore. **

"**Well, do you know what today is?" Troy questioned back with a smirk as he turned off the stove and faced her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body closer to hers.**

"**Uh, Tuesday?" Gabriella answered and then thought for a few seconds. It wasn't her birthday and it wasn't Troy's birthday either. **

"**Think harder, baby," Troy motivated. A light bulb then went off in Gabriella's head, as she found out what today was.**

"**It's our three month anniversary, isn't it?" Gabriella answered as Troy nodded his head.**

"**I can't believe you remembered?" Gabriella added, shocked.**

"**Why wouldn't I remember? It was the day we got married, and I'll always remember that," Troy replied as Gabriella smiled up at him.**

"**You're so cheesy," Gabriella teased as Troy smiled down at her. He then captured her lips with his and pulled back.**

"**You know you love it," Troy added as Gabriella giggled.**

"**I love you," Gabriella said as she looked deep into Troy's baby blue eyes. Troy then looked back into her eyes.**

"**I love you, too," Troy replied as he kissed Gabriella, once again. Troy then threw Gabriella over his shoulder and carried her upstairs. Gabriella squealed when Troy picked her up and then saw that Troy was carrying her upstairs. **

"**Where are you taking me?" Gabriella questioned as Troy smirked.**

"**Like you don't know," Troy added as he took Gabriella to their bedroom and locked the door.**

That night was the most memorable night of Gabriella's life, but four months later it all changed.

_~Seven months after Troy and Gabriella got married~_

_Gabriella had just arrived back home from work. She parked her car in the driveway and then went inside her house. She walked into the kitchen and set her bag on the counter. She then heard a typing noise coming from Troy's office and walked towards it. She peeked inside to see Troy on his computer typing. He didn't even notice Gabriella was staring at him, he was so memorized into his computer. There was a few seconds of silence until Gabriella decided to speak up._

"_Hey, Troy," Gabriella greeted as she stepped into the office. Troy didn't even look up at her, he just kept typing._

"_Hi," Troy muttered under his breath._

"_So, how was you day?" Gabriella asked, awkwardly._

"_Good," Troy mumbled as he kept on typing. Gabriella then sighed at her husband's one-word response._

"_Okay, well I'll just go and start on dinner now," Gabriella announced as she left the room. She then looked back to find that Troy was still in the same position. Gabriella then felt her eyes start to water up. He didn't even remember their seven month anniversary. _

That was the start of Gabriella's new life with Troy. Everyday he would come home and either goes to his office and work or goes to the living room and watch basketball. Gabriella was the only one willing to talk but other than that, there was no conversation ever.

Will Troy ever realize that he never pays attention to his wife anymore?

Will Gabriella have the guts to tell troy how she really feels about her life with him?

Will they ever go back to what they were before?

Find out in….. What we used to be


	2. Chapter 1

_~First Chapter_

Gabriella sighed as she looked out the window of her bedroom. Clear diamonds of water pounded against the cool glass on an early Sunday morning. Gabriella didn't work on the weekends but what's the point of enjoying weekends when you're all alone. This morning she woke up to an empty bed, which didn't surprise her. She then thought of the other person that fulfilled the bed, Troy Bolton.

Troy Bolton was Gabriella's husband for one year now. He's a successful traveling lawyer, which means he traveled a lot. Ever since that job was given to Troy, he's been a different person than before. He would always come home and go to his office. Even if Gabriella was home and he saw her, he would just look at her and continue on his way to his office. There wasn't any greeting, no hug and defiantly no kiss, just a simple glance. Gabriella knew Troy had wanted to become a lawyer ever since High School, so she never got in the way of Troy's job.

Gabriella laid her head on the clear glass and continued to stare out of it. She then thought of the last time Troy had ever kissed her, which was six months ago on their anniversary. That was also the last time he had made love to her, too. Most importantly, that was the last time she heard Troy tell her he loved her. A single tear ran down Gabriella's face like the raindrops outside. Gabriella didn't even bother to wipe it off, she just left it alone. Her stomach started to grumble and queeze, which made Gabriella remember she didn't have dinner last night. Gabriella stood up from the window and then made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Gabriella grabbed some whole wheat bread and put it in the shiny silver toaster. While waiting for her toast, Gabriella went to the stainless steel refrigerator and grabbed some butter. When he toast was popped up, she grabbed a plate and then went over to the table to eat her breakfast.

While Gabriella ate her breakfast, she saw a white piece of paper lying on the table. On the paper was Troy's handwriting. Gabriella picked it up and read it. It said _Make reservations at The water Grill for tonight at 8, Table of 2. _Gabriella smiled at the note. It was obvious Troy made reservations for him and her. Or was it? I mean why would he all of a sudden make dinner plans for them? Did he realize what was going on in their relationship? He was her husband so she should be used to these random dinner outings, even if he hasn't done it in over 6 months. Gabriella hugged the note close to her chest and smiled before placing back down on the table.

After breakfast, Gabriella walked upstairs to her room and changed into some sweats. She wasn't going anywhere today, well that is, until tonight. She didn't have many friends here in Los Angeles. All her friends were back in Albuquerque. Her co-workers were somewhat her friends but Gabriella never felt like she could actually go out with them after work.

Gabriella always hated the weekends because that's when she was bored to death. She could go shopping but she had more than enough clothes in her closet. She could go to lunch, but it was too early for lunch. She then went over to the mahogany dresser and swiped her finger across the surface. Just as she thought, a bunch of fluffy, gray dust covered the tip of her finger. Sure, Troy and Gabriella had more than enough money but Troy was too caught up in work to hire a maid or anything. She then headed over to her cleaning closet and started to clean the house.

After six hours of cleaning, Gabriella was finally finished cleaning the house. She put her cleaning supplies away in the closet and then plopped onto the black leather couch in the living room. She then heard the garage door open and her face lit up. Troy was finally home, which meant it was soon time for their dinner date. Gabriella stood up immediately and fixed her chocolate colored hair a little. The door then flew open to reveal Troy dressed in a dark navy suit. Gabriella stopped what she was doing and then looked over at Troy who was staring at her. Gabriella smiled brightly at him. Troy gave her a small smile before taking his shoes off. But hey, he smiled at her which was a start, right?

Gabriella then saw Troy walk to his office and followed. She saw him put his suitcase down and turn his computer on. Troy noticed that Gabriella was standing in the doorway, looking at him, intently. He then gave her a weird look.

"Uh, hi," Troy greeted, awkwardly.

"Hi Troy," Gabriella greeted back, as if it was a normal conversation.

"Um, do you need something?" Troy asked.

"Well, uh, actually I found something on the table that I think is yours," Gabriella answered as she walked back to the kitchen table. She then grabbed the note and walked back to Troy's office, to find him taking some folders out of his suitcase.

"Here it is," Gabriella announced as Troy looked up at her alarmed. Gabriella then handed Troy the note and he scanned it.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," Troy said as he put the note on his desk and continued to do what he was doing. Gabriella then looked at him for a few seconds to see if he would notice her still standing there. Like usual, he didn't.

"Um, I'll just go," Gabriella mumbled as she walked out the office. That was probably the longest conversation her and Troy had ever had in the past six months. It was already 6:00pm and if Gabriella wanted to look sexy for her date tonight she needed to get ready now. Gabriella then walked upstairs to her room to get ready.

In her bedroom, Gabriella went over to her closet to take a quick shower. In the shower, Gabriella felt the beads of water splash against her tan skin. She then grabbed the soap and started to wash herself.

Once Gabriella was finished in the shower, she dried herself off and put her hair in a towel. She then went over to the sink counter and grabbed her make-up. She then started applying on her make-up. When her basic make-up was finished, including her long, dark eyelashes, she grabbed her rosy red lipstick and applied it on. Just putting that simple color on her lips made Gabriella feel like the sexiest woman in the world. When she finished with the lipstick she gave herself a look in the mirror and smiled. She then put her make-up away and moved onto her hair.

Gabriella grabbed her blow drier and curling iron. She then took her hair out of the white towel and then dropped it to the floor. She grabbed her blow drier and started to dry her hair. When her hair was as dry as wood sand, she grabbed her curling iron and started to curl her hair. Her hair was already curly but she decided to make it even curlier than before. When Gabriella's hair was finished, she looked in the mirror one last time and smiled before dashing off to her closet and picking out a dress.

In Gabriella's closet, Gabriella walked to her section of the room. On the way there, she stopped at the section where Troy's suits were hung. She leaned over and smelt it before smiling. God, she loved the smell of Troy's cologne. She then continued on her way to her section and stopped at her dresses. She shuffled through them all trying to find the perfect dress to wear. She looked through them all before seeing the perfect dress. The bottom of the dress was black and curved with her legs. It went down to her thigh, which was good because then maybe Troy would want to continue the dinner date back home. Gabriella laughed at the thought and then noticed the top of the dress was crimson and was one shoulder strapped. She then remembered that today was going to a little chili so she grabbed a purple button up sweater. She then heard a knock on the closet door and opened it knowing who it was.

"Hey Troy," Gabriella greeted as she peeked her head out of the door.

"Um, can I come in? I need to get ready," Troy asked. Gabriella's face turned a bright shade of red as she looked down at her body and saw that she had only her panties on.

"Uh, could you wait a sec," Gabriella added as she closed the door and slipped her silk robe on. She then grabbed her clothes and opened the door to see Troy staring down at the door.

"You can go in now," Gabriella replied as Troy went in. She then headed to her bedroom and put the outfit on, careful not to mess her make-up and then grabbed her black peep toe heels and a black leather clutch.

While strapping her heels on, Troy had just entered the room, wearing his boxers only. Gabriella felt her face burn up and her cheeks turn a deep red. His perfect 6-pack made Gabriella want to run over to him and place kisses all over his chest.

"Do you know where my black Ralph Lauren button-up is?" Troy asked as he went over to the dresser, not even noticing Gabriella's face or outfit.

"Uh, I think you sent it to the dry cleaners," Gabriella answered as she looked over at Troy. Troy then gave her a quick glance before nodding and heading back to the closet. Gabriella watched him and then heard the closet door shut. She sighed; he didn't even compliment her dress. She then looked at the time to see that it was 7:00pm. Wow, they were going to leave in an hour. Gabriella couldn't keep her excitement in any longer so she ran downstairs and waited by the door, anxiously the door, anxiously.

Ten minutes later, Gabriella saw Troy come down the spiral stairs. Gabriella's mouth dropped as she saw that Troy was wearing a dark gray suit with a navy button up. His shoes were as shiny as a car and his hair was hanging over the side of his face. She watched as he flipped his hair in one swift moment, which made her want to melt. His baby blue eyes locked with her brown ones but the connection was soon gone when Troy looked down at his shoes and continued walking down the stairs. Gabriella looked down also and Troy approached her.

"You look, very handsome, Troy," Gabriella complimented as she gave him a smile.

"Thanks," Troy mumbled as he was too busy checking his messages on his phone. He then looked up from his phone and glanced down at Gabriella's body. Gabriella felt her stomach flip as she saw Troy's eyes go over every curve of her body.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Troy asked, curiously as he gave Gabriella a confused look.

"Well, it is a fancy restaurant, right? I just wanted to look like everyone else there," Gabriella explained.

"What are you talking about?" Troy asked, again. He was completely confused with Gabriella right now.

"Troy, I saw the note on the table. Reservations tonight at The Water Grill at eight, table of two," Gabriella stated. Troy looked at her confusingly.

"Uh, yeah? What about it?" Troy asked. 'Man he is slow' Gabriella thought.

"Well, didn't you make reservations for us tonight?" Gabriella questioned.

"Oh," Troy mumbled as he finally realized what Gabriella as talking about. He then looked down and shook his head. Gabriella then realized that Troy didn't make the reservation for them. It was for Troy and someone else.

"It wasn't for us, was it," Gabriella replied, sadly as Troy looked at her.

"Uh, no, it's a business dinner with me and my boss," Troy corrected. Gabriella felt like the stupidest person in the world. Why would she think Troy would make reservations for her and him tonight? God, she just wanted to cry her eyes out but she wasn't going to do that in front of Troy. Instead she looked up and blinked the tears away.

"God, I'm so stupid," Gabriella mumbled to herself as she dropped her clutch on the table. She then walked over to the hall mirror and wiped the running mascara underneath her eyes.

"Look Gabriella, I have to go so I'll see you when I get home," Troy announced as he opened the front door and left.

Unbelievable, that was the word repeating in Gabriella's head. How could he just leave her like that!? His wife was on the edge of tears and had just made a complete fool of herself and he just leaves! Gabriella felt a bundle of emotions boil up in her body. She was angry at Troy for not being there for her, she was upset at him for NOT taking her out to dinner and NOT saying that he was going to make it up to her somehow! He was a jerk, he was an ass hole but most of all he was he husband!


	3. Chapter 2

_~Second Chapter_

After Troy left, Gabriella picked her clutch up, wiped her tears off and stomped up the stairs. No man was worth tears, especially NOT Troy. She just wanted to slap him in the face and hopefully he would come back reality. She shoved the door open and threw her clutch on the bed. She wasn't going to waste another tear for Troy, tonight. When he came home, oh, he was going to get a mouth full. He going to wish he didn't have ears once Gabriella was finished. Good thing they lived on a private lot, which meant no neighbors and that meant Gabriella could scream her head off without worrying about anyone else. Gabriella unbuttoned her sweater and placed it down on her bed. She then unstrapped her shoes and put them to the side of her bed.

She walked back downstairs and grabbed a bottle of Vodka. She then grabbed a shot glass and poured herself a drink. She then chugged all that was in the shot glass down her throat. Who needs a fancy dinner with Troy when you could just stay a home and have your own party? Gabriella then poured herself another shot and swallowed it down fast. Gabriella wasn't too drunk yet and didn't want to get completely drunk until Troy returned home from his dinner. She put the Vodka and shot glass down and then went to the living room to watch TV. Lame, I know, but just wait until Gabriella is finished with Troy.

After two hours of watching TV, Gabriella heard the front door open. She then saw Troy's shadow walk towards the kitchen. Gabriella turned the TV off and slowly walked back to the kitchen.

"Hello Troy," Gabriella greeted rather rudely. Troy looked at her nervously and then dropped his keys on the table.

"How was your dinner?" Gabriella scoffed as she gave Troy a nasty glare.

"Uh, good," Troy answered as he was about to walk off to his office.

"Oh, no you don't. You're staying right here," Gabriella added as she grabbed Troy's arm rather harshly and dragged him back into the kitchen.

"Uh, Gabriella, I know you're mad but-," Troy started to say.

"Oh, no I'm not mad. I've passed mad an hour ago, right now I'm furious!" Gabriella interrupted. Troy then calmly took a seat across from Gabriella's standing body. He then looked at her, waiting for her explosion.

"Look Gabriella, what do you want me to do? Do you want money? Or how about that new diamond bracelet you saw last week?" Troy offered. Gabriella rolled her eyes at him, he was going to busy his way out of the problem.

"Troy! I don't want your fucking money! You had a chance to do something but you didn't!" Gabriella yelled back.

"Oh, yeah? What didn't I do?" Troy asked back, a little louder than his normal voice.

"Well how about when you left me? Huh? Remember that? I was on the edge of tears and you didn't even have the decency to comfort me," Gabriella answered, yelling at him.

"Gabriella, I was already late itself, I didn't have time," Troy explained as Gabriella just stared at him in shock. He didn't comfort her because he was afraid of being 'late'!?!

"Oh, gosh Troy, you're so unbelievable! You didn't have "time" to comfort me!?" Gabriella yelled as she gave Troy an upsetting look. She shook her head and walked off to the living room. She then grabbed a blanket on the side of the couch and fluffed the pillow on the couch.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked as he walked over to Gabriella.

"What does it look like I'm doing?! I'm sleeping on the couch! I can't stand sharing a bed with you! I can't even share a nice conversation with you!" Gabriella screamed as she laid back down and closed her eyes tight to prevent the tears from running down her cheeks. Troy sighed before going upstairs to sleep in his room.

The next day, Troy woke up in his bed around 6am. He turned to the other side of the bed to see it was still empty. How could Gabriella stand sleeping on the leather couch for the whole night? She must be THAT mad at him. Troy then shook off the thought because he remembered he had a case today and he couldn't be late. Troy got out of bed and went over to the bathroom to get ready.

When Troy was fully dressed and cleaned he went downstairs to the kitchen to grab his coffee. Usually Gabriella would be in the kitchen making his coffee but she wasn't. Instead, Troy walked over to the living room to find that Gabriella was still sleeping.

Gabriella had her eyes shut tight and her body was still, only moving to the sound of her breathing. Her cheeks were tear stained and Troy could see her mascara running down. Her lips were still red and her hair was flying against the couch.

She looked so peaceful and that's when Troy decided to head over to his office to get something. He grabbed the pad of paper and then scribbled something down. He then ripped the piece of paper out and walked back over to the living. There, he placed the paper on Gabriella's body and then walked off to his car to drive to work.

**Authors Note: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter guys! Sorry this one's so short.. But I will make it up to you by posting the next chapter sometime today! And please get your friends or something to review because if you guys REALLY like my story the more reviews I get the faster I will update!**


	4. Chapter 3

_~Third Chapter_

That morning, Gabriella woke up to the sound of the garage door opening. She slowly stretched on the couch and stood up only to find a piece of paper fall from her body to the ground. She rubbed her eyes before bending down and picking the paper up. Gabriella gasped at the paper only to find that it was a check from Troy!?

The check was worth one thousand dollars and Gabriella couldn't believe it. Troy would actually think Gabriella would feel better by getting one thousand dollars! She specifically told Troy that she didn't want his money. Gabriella crumbled the piece of paper in her hand and threw it to the other side of the living. She then walked up the stairs to her bedroom to get ready for work.

After Gabriella was finished with work she was heading home from work. She got off earlier than usual because there wasn't much business. It was only 4:30pm, which meant Troy shouldn't be home yet, and that's how Gabriella liked it. When she finally got home, she parked her car in the driveway, like usual, and then walked to the front door.

She took her keys out of her purse and then opened the door. She took a step inside and then closed the door behind her before going to the kitchen and dropping her bag on the counter. From the kitchen she heard a masculine voice coming from Troy's office and sighed. Just what she needed, her ass of a husband was home. Gabriella walked over to the office to see Troy on the phone, talking quite louder than usual. He didn't even notice Gabriella standing there until Gabriella cleared her throat. Troy then glanced up at her and smiled while Gabriella just glared angrily at him.

"Uh, can I call you back?" Troy called on the phone. After a few seconds, Troy hung up the phone and then looked back at Gabriella who was still staring angrily at him.

"How was your day?" Troy asked, nervously. He usually wasn't the person to make small talk. He decided to be a little nicer to Gabriella since the talk they had last night. It would take a while to get used to this, but Troy would try for the sake of his wife.

"It was fine," Gabriella spat as she walked into the office and over to the desk. She then placed her fingers on the hard wood and drummed them against it.

"What are you doing home so soon?" Troy asked, again. He could tell Gabriella was still mad at him.

"I'm not here to make small talk with you," Gabriella scoffed.

"Then why are you here?" Troy questioned.

"Why the hell did you leave a check for me?!" Gabriella exclaimed as she threw her hands in the air.

"Well you seemed mad at me last night so I left you a check. But if you think about it, you can take someone to dinner now," Troy answered.

"Did you think I couldn't afford dinner or something?! I have a job too you know!" Gabriella yelled.

"I know you do but now you don't have to worry about spending your own money. You can spend mine," Troy added, still in a normal tone of voice.

"I don't need your fucking money! I thought we cleared this up last night! You can't just buy my forgiveness!" Gabriella yelled.

"Gabriella, don't get jealous that I make more money than you," Troy replied as Gabriela stared at him in shock.

"I'm not jealous of you!? I will NEVER be jealous of you!" Gabriella added.

"Well, then relax and if you really don't want the money you can give it back, you know," Troy explained as Gabriella rolled her eyes.

She then gave Troy a glare before walking out of his office and to the living room. In there, she grabbed the crumpled check and then walked back to Troy's office. She then threw the check at Troy's face and walked out of the office.

Troy looked at the piece of paper that Gabriella threw at him. It was now placed in his lap and he opened it up. He then sighed, before placing the check on his desk and started calling back his boss.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was in her bedroom changing out of her work clothes. She couldn't believe Troy. For the past six months she wanted Troy to notice her or maybe even start a conversation with her, but now all she wanted was for Troy to ignore her like he usually did. Gabriella walked to the closet her and Troy shared and put one of her old shirts from High School and some booty shorts. She then walked out and walked down to the living room.

In the living room, Gabriella saw that Troy was in there watching a lakers game. She glared and then huffed out an angry breath before going over to the living room and taking the remote off the coffee table.

"What are you doing?!" Troy exclaimed as Gabriella changed the channel.

"I'm watching TV," Gabriella answered, not even daring to look at Troy.

"But I was watching the lakers!" Troy added.

"Why don't you go back to your office and work or something? You do it all the time anyways!" Gabriella scoffed as she looked over at Troy.

"Is that my shirt?" Troy questioned as he looked at Gabriella's shirt. Gabriella looked down as well and realized it was Troy's shirt. It was his old basketball jersey.

"Oh," Gabriella mumbled. Troy then watched as Gabriella took the shirt off of her body, leaving Gabriella in only her red lacy bra.

"Keep it," Gabriella muttered as she threw the shirt at Troy. Troy stared at Gabriella body, especially her breasts. He then shook off the sight as he looked over at Gabriella, who was watching TV.

"No, just put it on for now. I can't have you being topless all day," Troy said as he handed the shirt back to Gabriella.

"Why not? You liked me to be topless all day six months ago," Gabriella scoffed as she threw the shirt on the ground, forcefully.

"Look, Gabriella, just put on the shirt," Troy ordered as he looked deeply in Gabriella's eyes.

"No! If it bothers you so much, you can go and watch your stupid lakers game in your office!" Gabriella exclaimed. Troy then sighed before standing up and taking one last look at Gabriella.

"Oh and take your shit of a shirt," Gabriella said as she threw the shirt at Troy, who looked at her amused. Why was she all of a sudden so demanding? Troy then caught the shirt and walked to his office.

After the lakers game was over, Troy turned off the TV and then walked back to the living room to find Gabriella laying on the couch, sleeping. Troy noticed she was shaking, due to the wind by the ceiling fan, which meant she was cold. Troy then grabbed the wool blanket by the couch and threw it over Gabriella's body. He then hesitantly leaned towards Gabriella's forehead.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was sleeping soundly but then slowly stirred awake when she felt the warmth of a wool blanket around her body. She slowly opened her eyes to find Troy leaning towards her forehead, his lips puckered and everything. Gabriella's froze and then just as Troy was about to kiss her forehead, Gabriella put her hand against his mouth and pushed him away.

"Leave me alone," Gabriella mumbled, angrily as Troy looked at her surprised. He thought she wanted him to show her his affection but I guess not.

"Gabriella-," Troy started to say but then Gabriella cut him off.

"Troy, go," Gabriella ordered as she pointed towards his office.

"Gabriella, I'm not going to go," Troy added.

"Why not? You do it all the time," Gabriella replied. Troy then looked at her one last time before walking away. He needed to give her some space if she was ever going to forgive him.

Gabriella watched Troy walk away and sighed. She didn't need Troy's sympathy. He never gave it to her anyways, why start now? Gabriella's stomach then grumbled in hunger and she looked down. She was hungry and she knew it. She slowly stood up and walked to the kitchen to find Troy standing there as well. She rolled her eyes before walking away; she didn't need to see Troy right now. Her stomach then roared in hunger and Troy defiantly heard it.

"Gabriella, come here," Troy ordered as Gabriella glanced at him over her shoulder.

"No," Gabriella mumbled as her stomach growled, once again.

"You're hungry so come here and get something to eat," Troy ordered again.

Gabriella then sighed before walking back and facing Troy. Troy then took off the white t-shirt he was wearing and gave it to Gabriella. Gabriella looked up at him and Troy slowly lifted her arms up and slipped the shirt over her body. He then slightly smiled at her before going over to the pantry and grabbed some soup. He then grabbed a cherry red pot and started to prepare soup for her and him.

Gabriella smiled a little at him. She then looked down at his shirt that was now covering her body. Her smile grew bigger as the aroma of Troy's cologne fulfilled her nose. She closed her eyes and took in the scent before going over to Troy and looking at him.

"Thank you," Gabriella said as Troy looked down and smiled at her.

"No problem," Troy added. He then hesitantly leaned down towards Gabriella's face and stopped right at her cheek. Gabriella's breath hitched in her throat as she turned her face so that Troy had more access to her face. Troy slowly smiled before placing a slow and loving kiss on her cheek.

**A/N: How's that for a chapter? But don't worry, there will be WAY more drama in the next chapters! And don't get your hopes up to see this kind of affection in later chapters! What kind of story would that be? (:**


	5. Chapter 4

_~Forth Chapter_

When Troy finished making the soup for him and Gabriella, he grabbed to bowls and put the dark green liquid in it. Troy then went over to the table and set one of the bowls' in front of Gabriella. Gabriella smiled before picking up a spoon. She then took a bite/sip out of the soup and then immediately spit it back out.

"What's wrong?" Troy asked, nervously as he watched Gabriella spit out the food.

"It takes like dirty socks! Or maybe even burnt cardboard!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Oh," Troy mumbled as he looked down at the soup.

"Did I say it tasted like socks? I meant it, uh, it tasted like, um," Gabriella stammered, trying to think of a word that rhymed with socks.

"Gabriella, I know you don't like it," Troy replied.

"I'm sorry, but thanks for trying to cook," Gabriella apologized as she smiled at Troy. Troy smiled back at her and then slowly leaned in. Gabriella leaned in as well and waited for those sweet lips of his' to crash against hers.

"This is wrong," Troy muttered as he was about to touch Gabriella's lips. Gabriella then stopped leaning in and leaned away from him. She then looked at him confusingly.

"What's, "Wrong" with kissing your wife!?" Gabriella questioned, her voice rising a bit.

"Well, I mean we haven't actually kissed in a long time so it might me a little weird to start out of nowhere," Troy reasoned.

"It's weird to kiss your wife, who has been with you for one year?! What the hell does that mean?!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Gabriella, look we may be married but our feelings haven't fully settled in with each other," Troy explained.

"Haven't fully settled in with each other!? What did you feel when you proposed to me? Or how did you feel when we got married?! I bet the sex was so horrible for you!" Gabriella yelled.

"Gabriella, that was a long time ago, let's start out slow for now," Troy said as he got up from the table.

"Start out slow!? We're not dating anymore Troy! We're fucking married to each other!" Gabriella cried out. But instead of Troy listening to her, he had already left the table and was now by the sink dumping the soup down the drain.

Gabriella stomped over to him and stared at him angrily. Troy then turned around and gasped when he found Gabriella standing right behind him. He took a deep breath before walking the other way and towards his office.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Gabriella asked as Troy kept on walking, with Gabriella following.

"To my office," Troy mumbled, angrily. So much for making up with each other.

"Wow, you're going to your office? I would've never guessed," Gabriella said, sarcastically. Troy then opened his office door and was about to close it until Gabriella stopped the door with her foot.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?!" Gabriella scoffed as she pushed the door open and walked inside.

"What the hell do you want?!" Troy bellowed. He couldn't stay calm any longer with Gabriella.

"I want you to tell me why it's so wrong to kiss your wife!?" Gabriella demanded back. Troy then took a frustrated sigh out before looking at Gabriella, totally pissed off.

"Okay, you know what, if you want to kiss me so bad, why don't you just kiss me already instead of nagging me to no end!?" Troy yelled.

"Sorry, I don't kiss ass holes," Gabriella reasoned as she smirked at her comment. Troy looked at her shocked, did she just call him an ass hole!? Gabriella then turned around and exited the office, slamming the door behind her.

Gabriella smiled in victory; she knew she had just one the fight. That gives her a point leaving her and Troy tied. Gabriella then walked up the stairs to her bathroom and decided to take a nice, long bubble bath.

She went over to the shiny, white clawfoot tub and filled it up with hot water and bubbles. She then stripped out her clothes and Troy's stupid white shirt and climbed into the bathtub. She rested her head against the back of the tub and closed her eyes. She then moaned out in pleasure as she felt the hot water seep through her skin. After a few seconds of resting, Gabriella heard muffle sounds coming from the bedroom. She quickly opened her eyes and looked around for a few seconds. She then slowly closed her eyes again and relaxed. Then….. **BAM!**

The bathroom door slammed against the wall and Gabriella's eyes widened. She remembered she forgot to lock the door. Gabriella then turned her head around to find Troy there staring right back at Gabriella. Gabriella's anger boiled up in her body and she let out a scream.

"Get out, Troy! Don't you ever to knock before you enter a bathroom?!" Gabriella screamed out.

"Haven't you heard of locking the damn door!?" Troy yelled back. He then covered his eyes with his hands and tried to find his way out.

"Oh, stop covering your eyes! It's not like you haven't seen it!" Gabriella yelled as Troy took his hand off his eyes. He then walked over to the door and left, shutting it behind him. Gabriella blew a sigh of relief, next time she shouldn't forget to lock the door.

After Gabriella was dressed in her pajamas and was cleaned, she walked over to her bed and began to get ready for bed. She pulled the covers out and then settled herself in. Just as she laid her head down on the pillow, Troy just came into the room after his shower. His hair was still wet and little beads of water were dripping off his forehead. He had a towel in his hand and was drying his hair, and then noticed Gabriella staring at him.

Troy dried the towel against his head one last time before throwing the towel on the bathroom counter and walking over to the bed. Gabriella watched as Troy peeled the covers and settled his self into the bed. Gabriella sighed before turning around so that her back was facing him. Troy then clapped his hands to turn off the lights and then rested his head on the pillows. Gabriella grabbed the bed sheet and pulled it closer to herself and took a deep breath. She then closed her eyes and started to sleep.

Meanwhile, Troy was still shuffling in the bed. It was very uncomfortable to be sleeping in the same bed as Gabriella. When he was finally somewhat comfortable, he closed his eyes tight, begging for some sleep. He heard Gabriella's peaceful breaths, which meant she was asleep. Great, she was asleep and he wasn't. Troy then sat up in the bed and looked around the room. He got out of the bed, carefully, and then went down the stairs to get a drink of water.

When Troy was in the kitchen, he grabbed a clear glass cup from the cupboard and filled t up with water. He then took a sip before hearing the house phone ring. Who the hell calls at 11 at night?! This sudden noise shocked Troy, causing him to drop the glass on the ground. The cup shattered into a million pieces on the ground, leaving a puddle of water along with it.

Upstairs, Gabriella was fast asleep until she heard a smashing and ringing sound in the kitchen. Her eyes opened fast and she sat up in her bed. She then looked around the room to find Troy gone. Gabriella let out a frustrated sigh before getting out of her bed and heading downstairs to the kitchen.

Down in the kitchen, Gabriella walked towards the sink to find a bunch of tiny pieces of glass lying on the floor. She looked at it confusingly and then walked over to Troy, who was talking on the phone. Gabriella rolled her eyes, as she bent down and picked the bigger pieces of glass from the ground. She then threw them away in the trash can before getting a dust pan and sweeper and cleaning up Troy's mess.

When Troy finished talking on the phone to his boss, he hung up and turned around only to find an angry Gabriella glaring at him. He looked back at her and then saw that he mess was all cleaned up. He gulped, ready to hear Gabriella scold him like a child.

"Troy, what the hell were you doing at 11 at night!?" Gabriella asked, anger rising in her voice.

"I was thirsty," Troy answered, calmly.

"Oh, well then explain how the glass landed on the ground?!" Gabriella asked, again.

"The phone startled me therefore leaving me to drop the cup on the ground," Troy explained, as if Gabriella was stupid.

"Well, who the fuck calls at 11 at night!?" Gabriella yelled.

"My boss!" Troy yelled back, defending his boss. He was no longer going to be Mr. Nice guy to Gabriella.

"Of course it would be a person you work with," Gabriella scoffed. She then turned around and walked up the stairs to the bedroom.

"And tell you boss to go to hell! He woke me up!" Gabriella called as she took steps up the stairs. Troy then shook his head and sighed. His wife was such a drama queen.

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter! I will update as soon as possible, which will probably be tomorrow! (:**


	6. Chapter 5

_~Fifth Chapter_

The next morning, Gabriella was the first one to wake up, which really surprised her. She opened her eyes and turned to her side to see Troy still sleeping. She sighed; she was a little harsh on him last night. But then again, when your sleeping and something wake you up you're not always the nicest person. She pulled the covers off of her body before walking over to her bathroom and getting in the shower.

Troy's eyes slowly fluttered open to the sound of the shower running. He rubbed his eyes before opening then completely and sitting up in the bed. He then peeled the covers off of his body and walked over to the bathroom and knocked, like he was told to do.

"Gabriella, can I come in?" Troy asked through the door. Gabriella then stopped washing her hair and looked at the door. She then thought for a second before answering.

"Fine," Gabriella answered as Troy opened the door. Gabriella then continued showering while Troy took out a razor and started shaving.

Every now and then, Gabriella would look though the shower doors to see Troy continuing to do his daily morning routine. He didn't even notice that Gabriella was in the shower. It didn't surprise her though; the last time he ever cared that she was in the shower was six months ago when he wanted to join her in the shower. Gabriella smiled at the thought of what they did in the shower.

_~6 months ago, the morning after Troy and Gabriella's anniversary~_

_Troy entered the master bathroom, in his boxers. He remembered the night him and Gabriella had last night and smirked. She's just getting better and better in bed every day. He then grabbed his toothbrush and started to brush his teeth but then saw the bathroom door swing open. There stood his gorgeous wife in only a bra and thong. Troy felt himself get hard just staring at her body and Gabriella even caught his boner._

_"You better clam yourself down, big boy," Gabriella teased as she bent up and placed a soft kiss on his lips. She then walked over to the shower and grabbed her towel. Troy smirked at the after view he saw when Gabriella walked away from him. Damn, she had fine ass. Troy then dropped his toothbrush as he watched Gabriella slide her thong down her long, sexy legs. She then unclasped her own bra and hopped into the shower, not noticing that Troy was staring at her. _

_Troy grinned, deviously, as he thought of a brilliant plan to get rid of his boner. He then walked towards the shower and knocked on the glass door._

_"May I help you?" Gabriella questioned as she continued to wash her hair._

_"Do you mind if I join?" Troy questioned back as Gabriella smirked._

_"Hmm, I don't know," Gabriella teased, smirking. Troy just ignored her and stripped off hiss boxers. He then opened the glass door and closed it behind him. He turned around to find Gabriella smirking at him. He smirked back before placing a fierce kiss on her lips. Gabriella returned the kiss in a heartbeat and then wrapped her hands around Troy's neck. She then pulled Troy's head more into the kiss as Troy pushed her back into the shower wall._

_When Gabriella's back slammed against the cold shower wall, she felt Troy lifting her up. She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist and then pulled away from his lips to catch her breath. When Troy felt Gabriella pull back, he then started to suck and nibble on her neck, leading to a pleasurable moan to come out of Gabriella's mouth. He smiled against her neck before going back to her lips and kissing them passionately. Once Troy pulled back he looked deep into Gabriella's eyes and Gabriella looked back up at him. _

_"Are you ready?" Troy asked as he positioned himself, about to enter her throbbing, hot core. He then stopped himself before looking back at Gabriella worriedly._

_"Do we need a condom?" Troy asked as Gabriella shook her head._

_"I'm on the pill, baby," Gabriella assured. She then placed a soft, but passionate kiss on Troy's lips on last time. Troy then looked at her closely as he entered her._

_Gabriella gripped onto Troy's shoulders as he entered her and closed her eyes tight. Troy kept sliding into her until his hard shaft was completely inside of her. Gabriella let out a sigh of relief before Troy started to thrust in and out of her. Gabriella let a loud moan escape her mouth as Troy let out a moan himself. He then quickened his pace and started to thrust harder and groaned due to the amount of pressure on his penis. Gabriella felt her muscles clamp around Troy's shaft, meaning she was close. She then gave Troy a look, which meant she was close, so Troy started to thrust deeper into her, if possible. After a few more thrusts, Gabriella and Troy both screamed out each other's name before both coming at the same time. Troy stayed inside Gabriella to keep the pleasure insdie of him. He felt his body tingle and then looked over at Gabriella. Gabriella was breathing hard and felt her forehead dripping sweat. She saw Troy looking at her and then gave him a small smile before leaning in and pecking his lips._

_"I love you," Troy whispered in Gabriella's ear. Gabriella felt her lips curl up into a huge grin and she quickly responded._

_"I love you too," Gabriella added and then placed a long, passionate kiss on Troy's lips. _

_~End of flashback~_

Gabriella quickly shook off the thought, remembering that it would bring tears to her eyes if she thought of it any longer. She then continued to take a shower; not even noticing at Troy was already gone.

When Gabriella finished in her shower, she got out and got dressed for work. Once dressed, she walked downstairs and grabbed a breakfast bar. She then made some cffee and grabbed her travel mug. She started to take a bite out of her breakfast bar while waiting for the coffee to be ready. That's when she noticed that Troy was gone. As in gone to work, which is what Gabriella expected. She then grabbed her coffee and went to her car and drove off to work.

At work, Gabriella entered the children's hospital and then walked off to her usual work area. She was then stopped by the Taylor, her co worker that works at the front desk.

"Gabriella, can you come here for a sec?" Traylor asked as Gabriella nodded. She then walked over to Taylor.

"So, what do you need?" Gabriella asked back.

"Well, we are having some college students from UCLA and their at your usual work station. Stacy is teaching them what to do at the area so you don't have to worry about it," Taylor explained.

"Okay, but then do I do for the rest of the day?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, Molly is out for the day so could you go and replace her at child care?" Taylor asked.

"Well, I really don't know what to do," Gabriella admitted as Taylor shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, it's really simple. But then again it's a little different than what she would usually do. There's a little boy in there named Alex and he's been at the hospital with his mom and dad for the past week. His family had just realized his sister, Jill, had just been diagnosed with Cancer and the doctor is trying his best to save her. His mom and dad are depressed and Alex doesn't know what's going on since he's only one and a half," Taylor stated as Gabriella nodded her head, understanding what Taylor's saying.

"So, what do you need me to do?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, his father went to work since he's been calling off days for the past week and if he calls anymore days off, he's going to get fired. His mom was so worried to sleep so she's decided to try to get some sleep in. What I need you to do is to try to cheer up Alex. He still doesn't understand that his sister situation and doesn't understand why his parents are so sad," Taylor explained.

"That's all I need to do? No offence, I would love to cheer this little boy up but I'm a doctor not a babysitter," Gabriella replied.

"I know, but we don't have anyone else to look after Alex, plus he's starting to get upset seeing his parents in tears," Taylor reasoned.

"Okay, I'll head over to child care," Gabriella announced as she took her handbag and headed over to the child care center.

At child care, Gabriella headed over to the waiting part in the area. When she got there, she saw a dirty blonde headed woman. She had bags under her eyes and a few tears were flowing down her cheeks. Her eyes were bright blue and had a depressed look on her face.

In the woman's lap was a little boy. He had blonde curly hair and electric blue eyes like the woman's lap he was sitting on. He was so small and cute that whenever he laughed at the show on the TV his little nose would wrinkle up. He had light skin and a pacifier in his mouth. Gabriella smiled brightly before walking towards them.

"Hi, my name's Gabriella Montez," Gabriella greeted sweetly as she stuck her hand out for the woman. The woman flashed a small smile before shaking Gabriella's hand.

"Hi, Gabriella, my name's Brittany and this is my son, Alex," Brittany greeted back. Gabriella smiled at them and then looked back at Brittany.

"Well, I was told that your daughter is in the doctor's office trying to deal with cancer," Gabriella stated as a few tears ran down Brittany's face.

"Oh, my, gosh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-," Gabriella started.

"It's fine," Brittany interrupted as she wiped some of her tears with her finger.

"But I also heard that you wanted the day to rest so I'm here to take care of your son, Alex, while you do so," Gabriella explained.

"Oh, well thank you. I didn't know the hospital would actually send a person here to take care of my son," Brittany admitted.

"Yeah, well some college students are doing my usual job so I'm free for babysitting," Gabriella replied as Brittany smiled at her.

"Well, still thank you, so much. I'm just going to head off then," Brittany added as she stood up, carrying Alex in her arms.

"Alex, this is Gabriella. She is a very nice lady so be nice for mommy, okay?" Brittany asked Alex. Alex then nodded before feeling Brittany kiss his forehead. Brittany then handed Alex over to Gabriella.

"Where mommy go?" Alex asked as he looked at him mom.

"Mommy's go to go sleep. Stay here with Gabriella," Brittany said as she waved good-bye to Alex. She then left the room. Alex's eyes started to well up with tears and just as his mom left he screamed out.

"Mommy!" Alex cried as tears flowed down his cheeks. Gabriella panicked as she rocked Alex back and forth. What was she supposed to do with a crying baby?

"It's okay, Alex. Mommy's going to be back soon," Gabriella assured as she looked down at Alex. She then put his down on the ground and he ran over to the exit of the room. Good thing the door was child proof.

"Mommy! Come back," Alex cried as he slammed his little fists against the doors. Gabriella let a tear roll down her cheek, Alex really loved his mommy. She then walked over to Alex and scooped him up in her arms.

"Alex, mommy's going to b back soon," Gabriella cooed. Alex then let a few more tears run down his face before looking up at Gabriella' Gabriella gave him a small smile before running a hand through his blonde hair.

"Where Jill?" Alex asked. Gabriella then remembered that Jill was his sister. How was she going to answer that question?

"Uh, she's in the doctor's office," Gabriella answered quickly. She then put his down and he immediately ran over to the Lego box. Gabriella followed him and started playing with Alex. This was going to be a long day.

Meanwhile, Troy was at his office working on his next case. It was finally 11:00am, which meant it was time for his lunch break. Yeah it was early, but Troy didn't mind. Troy was about to head down to the cafeteria and grab some food until his boss called him over to their office.

After about a 30 minute talk with Troy and his boss, Troy exited the room and then headed downstairs. Man, did he have something to tell Gabriella or what. Troy was about to grab some food but then thought of an idea of how to tell Gabriella about the news Troy's boss had given him. Troy then dropped the lunch tray and went over to his car, driving off to Gabriella's work.


	7. Chapter 6

_~Sixth Chapter_

When Troy arrived at the Children's hospital, he parked his car in a parking space and headed inside the building. He walked in to see a dark skinned girl standing there sorting through a pile of papers. Troy took of his dark Ray Ban aviators and walked over to the front desk where the woman was standing.

"Hello sir, how may I help you?" Taylor greeted as Troy looked at her.

"I'm actually looking for someone," Troy replied.

"Okay, who do you need to find?" Taylor asked as she went over to the computer.

"Gabriella Montez," Troy answered as Taylor looked up at him, realizing that he wasn't talking about a patient.

"Oh, Gabriella is on the fifth floor at Child care. You can just take the elevator up there," Taylor said as Troy nodded at her. He then went over to the elevator and went up to the fifth floor.

At the fifth floor, Gabriella was still in there with Alex. Gabriella figured his mother would be resting for a couple of hours so she decided to get used to him. He was actually a cute little boy. He loved to play with cars and Legos and had the most adorablest giggle. After a few hours of playing and trying to talk to him, they felt comfortable with each other.

Right now, she was in the supply cabinet in the room trying to find band aids because Alex scratched himself with a hard metal car. When Gabriella finally found a band aid she walked back over to a crying Alex and lifted his knee up.

"Shhh, Alex it's okay," Gabriella cooed as she put some ointment on the cut. Alex cried even louder and Gabriella opened the band aid package up. She then put the band aid on Alex's cut and looked at him.

"All done?" Alex asked, tears still running down his cheeks.

"Yep, I'm all done," Gabriella assured as she carried Tyler off of the high table.

"Mommy kisses me to make it all better," Alex pointed out as Gabriella smiled at him.

"Really? Well since mommy's not here, I'll kiss it better," Gabriella added. She then leaned in and kissed Alex's cheek. Just then, the door to the room swung open. Troy looked at the scene, Gabriella kissing some blonde haired boy. Gabriella quickly pulled away from Alex's cheek and looked over at the doorway to see Troy.

"Hi Troy," Gabriella greeted. Troy looked at her shocked as Gabriella rocked Alex in her arms.

"Is this your baby?!" Troy asked, worriedly.

"Troy are you stupid?! How could this baby be mine?!" Gabriella asked back.

"I don't know…. Maybe you were, uh, hiding it from me," Troy stammered.

"Really, Troy? I was hiding a baby from you?" Gabriella asked, trying to prove a point.

"I don't know?" Troy questioned as Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"And yet somehow you managed to pass law school," Gabriella mumbled.

"Daddy?" Alex asked as he looked at Troy.

"See that! He called me daddy!" Troy pointed out.

"Troy, he's one year old! He doesn't know what he's saying! I don't have a baby Troy," Gabriella assured.

"Really? Then who is he?"Troy questioned.

"Long story but he's one of my patients brother. His mother went to go sleep and I'm just taking care of him just for today," Gabriella explained.

"Ohhh," Troy said, finally understanding what Gabriella's saying.

"Do you want to hold him?" Gabriella asked as Troy shook his head fast.

"No, this is a new tie," Troy reasoned. Gabriella rolled her eyes at him and put Alex down.

"Of course it is," Gabriella muttered, "So, why are you here?"

"Oh, well I have some good news to tell you," Troy replied as he walked closer to Gabriella.

"What?" Gabriella asked, getting excited as a grin appeared on her face.

"I got promoted!" Troy exclaimed as Gabriella's grin dropped. Troy got promoted?! Wasn't he already at the top of the business?

"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, my boss just turned 70 the other day I had plans with dinner for him and he's retiring. He called me over to his office on my lunch break and told me to take over his spot when he's gone!" Troy explained as he smiled big.

"Did you accept?" Gabriella questioned.

"Well, yeah! Why wouldn't I?

"Oh, well congratulations," Gabriella added, as she gave him a small smile. Troy smiled back at her and then grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a hug. Gabriella was surprised by this action but hugged back and closed her eyes trying to remember this moment. It's been so long since they have been this close to each other.

Troy then pulled back and looked at Gabriella. He could tell that Gabriella wasn't excited like him and gave her a worried look.

"What's wrong?" Troy asked. 'Wow, he actually cares', Gabriella thought.

"Um, nothing, I'm really happy for you," Gabriella replied, a little sad. She then gave Troy a fake smile and then walked back over to Alex.

"Well, I'll see you at home," Troy replied as he opened the door.

"Okay, bye," Gabriella replied, looking down. Alex then ran over to Troy and hugged his leg.

"Where daddy go?" Alex asked as he looked up at Troy. Gabriella ran over to Alex and pulled him off of Troy's leg and picked him up in her arms.

"Alex, that isn't your daddy," Gabriella stated as she looked at Alex.

"He my second daddy! Like you my second mommy!" Alex said as he pointed to Troy.

"No, Alex you have one mommy and daddy. I'm your friend and that person is a stranger," Gabriella explained as Troy looked at her.

"Stranger?" Troy repeated.

"Yeah, stranger," Gabriella repeated. Troy then looked at her before walking out the door.

"Typical," Gabriella muttered under her breath. She then put Alex back down and followed his to the toy chest.

That evening, when Gabriella got back home from work, she walked inside the house and heard the TV was on. She dropped her bags on the hall table and walked over to the living room to find Troy yelling at the TV. Gabriella sighed before grabbing her stuff from the hall table and going upstairs to change.

When Gabriella was done changing, now wearing a t-shirt and some gray shorts, she walked back downstairs to the living room. Troy was still in there watching basketball so Gabriella just walked over to the opposite side of the couch and sat there. She loved basketball, sure, but not as much as Troy. Gabriella even remembered that Troy took her to a Lakers game last year on her birthday. But that was the past, tomorrow is Gabriella's birthday and she hoped that Troy would remember.

"Yeah! Wooo! Lakers just scored!" Troy yelled in excitement as he jumped up from his seat. Gabriella looked at him weirdly before seeing that it was now commercial break.

"What's the score?" Gabriella asked, as she took a seat. Troy looked around, not seeing Gabriella, and when he finally caught her with his eye he looked at her.

"3-0. The game just stated," Troy answered as he took a sip of his beer. Gabriella then got up and walked to the refrigerator to grab herself a beer and then walked back to the living room to see Troy looking at her.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked as Gabriella sat down a few seats away from him.

"Drinking beer?" Gabriella answered, in a questioning tone as she took a sip of her drink. Troy gave her a weird look; he didn't know she drank beer.

"Since when do you drink beer?" Troy asked, confused.

"Remember that one night when we were dating you dared me to drink beer?" Gabriella asked, interested in the question. She hoped Troy would remember.

"Oh, yeah, we were at my house watching the Lakers game together," Troy answered as Gabriella smiled at him. He actually remembered!

"Yeah, and then you told me that if I didn't drink it we wouldn't have sex for a straight week," Gabriella added as Troy laughed.

"Oh, yeah, and then you said that was a mean punishment. You then grabbed the drink and chugged it down," Troy replied as Gabriella giggled.

"And then I said it tasted good and grabbed another beer and drank it," Gabriella said.

"Do you remember after that Lakers game? We both were so drunk," Troy replied. They both then laughed remembering that night.

"Yeah, that was hilarious. You then carried me to your room and we, uh, yeah," Gabriella stammered, not wanting to bring up sex.

"Oh, yeah I remember," Troy blushed as well as Gabriella. There was a silence between the two of them and then Gabriella spoke up.

"Oh, look the game's back," Gabriella announced as her and Troy turned their attention towards the TV.

**A/N: I hoped you guys liked it! Now I have to go and sleepover at my friend's house! Yay! Please review! And thanks for every single review everyone left! I appreciate it soooo much! **


	8. Chapter 7

_~Seventh Chapter_

When the Lakers game was over, Lakers winning of course, Troy turned the TV off and looked at Gabriella. They both had at least 4 beers each, but weren't completely drunk. Troy stood up from the couch, his hip crashing into the side of the coffee table, while Gabriella stood up behind him. Gabriella followed closely behind, and was a bit high from the amount of alcohol she drank. She continued walking until she bumped into Troy's back from a sudden stop Troy had made.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella asked.

"I can't make it to our room, it's too far," Troy answered, complaining like a little kid. His head was spinning like a top. That's the last time he's going to have 4 beers in less than two hours.

"Oh, come on, I'll help you," Gabriella offered as she walked in front of Troy. She then stuck her arms out for Troy, who immediately took then in his hands, tightly. He then slowly started to lift himself off of the couch.

"You're so heavy!" Gabriella commented as Troy fully stood up. She then led Troy up the stairs, him leaning his heavy body on her shoulder.

"Troy, stop dragging your feet! Pick them up and at least try to help me get you to your room," Gabriella ordered. But Troy just kept his legs dangling on the ground.

Then, when Gabriella took another step up the stairs she got held back by Troy's weight and they both fell backwards onto the hard tile flooring of the kitchen. Troy's back hit the ground first but then Gabriella fell on top of Troy, right on his torso. They were so close together Gabriella could feel Troy's abs against her breasts.

"Owww," Troy and Gabriella whined at the same time. They then looked at each other and bursted out into laughter.

"This.., is what happens…, when you don't…, pick up your feet," Gabriella said through her fit of giggles. Troy laughed as well.

"Well, I told you I couldn't make it to our room," Troy added, another chuckle escaping his mouth.

"But you have to admit it was funny," Gabriella pointed out as she smiled up at Troy. She then looked down and saw that she was lying on top of Troy's body.

"I'll get up," Gabriella announced as she placed her hands on both sides of Troy's body and lifted herself up from Troy's body, slowly. When she was half way up, she felt Troy grab onto her arm to stop her.

"Hey, come back here," Troy ordered as he placed his hands on Gabriella's waist and brought her back down to his body. Troy pulled her close to his chest and breathed in the scent of Gabriella's strawberry shampoo.

"This is nice," Gabriella commented as she nuzzled her nose into Troy's chest and took in the scent of Troy's cologne. After a few seconds of staying in that position, Troy moved his eyes over to the clock in the kitchen and saw that it was already 10:30pm.

"Let's go upstairs," Troy whispered in Gabriella's ear. Gabriella then nodded her head before slowly getting up. She then leaned down and helped Troy up and Gabriella, once again, helped Troy up the stairs. This time, Troy actually picked his feet up.

Once in Troy and Gabriella's bedroom, Gabriella helped Troy over to the bed and layed him there. She then went to the dresser to grab something she would sleep in. She ended up grabbing an old t-shirt and some blur shorts. Meanwhile, when Gabriella walked away, Troy looked after her and saw that she was heading for their dresser. He watched her pick up some clothes and then his eyes widened when he saw that Gabriella was stripping off the clothes she had on.

Her delicate hands went to the hem of her shit and lifted it off her body leaving her only in a bra. Her back was facing Troy and Troy watched as her hands moved to the clasp of her bra and started to unclasp it. Troy couldn't actually see Gabriella's breasts but it made him hard just thinking about the full picture of them. Gabriella then slipped on the t-shirt she had in her hands and started to take off her pants. She unbuttoned and unzipped her pants before sliding them down her long, sexy legs and throwing them on the floor. Troy could see she was wearing a black lacy thong and he felt himself get even harder just staring at her ass. Gabriella then put on the blue shorts she had in her hand and picked her other clothes from off the ground. She placed them in the hamper before going to the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. Troy still couldn't believe what he had just saw but he was completely surprised when Gabriella didn't notice him staring at her like that. Or did she?

Gabriella closed the bathroom door behind her and smirked. She was well aware that Troy was staring at her, his eyes going over her curves and features. At least, he finally noticed Gabriella even if she had to strip down to almost nothing. She caught a glimpse of him over her shoulder so she was fully aware Troy was aroused by her actions. Gabriella smiled one last time at the look she saw on Troy's face when Gabriella took off her pants, leaving her only in her thong, before going to the sink to wash her face.

Outside the bathroom was a more then aroused Troy. Troy had never been so turned on in his life. She wasn't even facing him and yet he was completely rock hard. His nerves were never this sensitive, but maybe it's because Troy hasn't seen her FULL body in a long time. Troy shook off the thought and tried to get up but couldn't because of his rock hard penis. He was still caught up in the image of Gabriella be couldn't even think straight. That is until he caught Gabriella in the bathroom doorway looking at him oddly.

"Troy, are you okay?" Gabriella asked, trying to sound like she was worried for him. She knew for a fact that he was NOT okay. Just one look at Troy's lower body and all that could stand out was Troy's penis making a huge tent in his pants. It's a good thing those shorts that he was wearing are stretchy because if they weren't, those pants would have a major hole in them.

"Uh, yeah," Troy lied, nervously. Hopefully, Gabriela couldn't see the tent in his pants. Oh, who was he kidding, Gabriella wasn't blind.

"Really? Do you need me to get you anything?" Gabriella asked, slowly. I was pretty obvious that Troy was lying.

"Um, no, I'm fine," Troy lied. He knew what he needed, to get to the shower! Or maybe Gabriella could help him get rid of this huge boner he had.

"Well, you look a little, hard down there," Gabriella pointed out as she looked down at Troy's manhood.

"Yeah, well, you know," Troy stammered as he nervously laughed. Gabriella then leaned into Troy's ear.

"Why don't I help you get rid of that?" Gabriella offered, seductively, nibbling on Troy's ear. She didn't know what she was planning on doing. I mean they haven't down this in over a year?! Maybe she could have a little fun with him before her birthday. After all, who could turn down sex with a handsome guy like Troy?

Troy shivered at Gabriella's words. Did she really want to have sex with his tonight? Where did this sudden action come from? But who could deny a woman as sexy as Gabriella? And it's only for one night. Maybe he could celebrate the Lakers win? But then he remembered he had an early business conference with his boss tomorrow morning.

"I have a, um, business meeting tomorrow morning," Troy explained as Gabriella pulled back from his ear and looked in his eyes. Troy could see the burning passion in her eyes and looked away a little.

"Well, how early? It's not going to take up your whole morning, is it?" Gabriella asked, huskily. She had never felt sexier in her life and she wasn't even wearing anything sluttly! Well, except her thong. Gabriella then traced her fingers up to the collar of Troy's polo and started to play with the piece of fabric.

"Well, I can't be late to this meeting," Troy explained, his breathing becoming irregular as Gabriella hand's went down to his erected nipples. Her fingers then went over the pebble hard tip.

"That's only a couple of hours away from now. Can't you squeeze me in?" Gabriella asked, flirtatiously, as he hands went down to Troy's manhood. She then started to place long, hard strokes on his hard shaft, through the material of clothing.

"Gabriella," Troy moaned out as he closed his eyes in pleasure. He threw his head back and took in deep breaths. He had to control himself and his body before he did anything to make him late to this meeting. Troy then felt Gabriella's hand caress his balls softly and he groaned. Screw the meeting!

Troy took his hands and placed them on Gabriella's face before bringing her face down and kissing her fiercely. Gabriella was surprised at how hard troy was kissing but returned the kiss with even more force. Gabriella then pulled back from the kiss and leaned in close to Troy's right ear.

"So, you finally find time for me in your busy schedule," Gabriella whispered, huskily. She then got up on the bed and laid her body on top of Troy's.

"You're always going to be on my schedule," Troy whispered back in Gabriella's ear. Gabriella smiled before going to Troy's lips and kissing him, fiercely.

Troy grabbed Gabriella's head and pulled her closer to his to make the kiss deeper. Gabriella pulled back due to the lack of air she was getting and went down to Troy's neck and placed little pecks on it. She then found a certain spot on his neck and sucked on it hard. Troy moaned and Gabriella could feel his throat vibrate in her mouth and continued to suck on his neck. Troy had his hands in Gabriella's dark curly hair and his eyes were shut tightly, due to the amount of pleasure he was feeling. He hasn't felt this in a LONG time.

Gabriella pulled back from Troy's neck and looked up at his face. His eyes were shut and his hands were practically squeezing her scalp. She smirked before kissing Troy's nose lightly, trying to get him to look at her. Troy's eyes fluttered open and he stared at Gabriella, confused. Why did she stop?

"Why.., did…, you stop?" Troy asked, breathlessly.

"In order to get what you want, you have to watch me with your eyes OPEN," Gabriella ordered as Troy nodded.

"Okay," Troy agreed. Gabriella smiled before going to his lips and pecking them. When she tried to pull back, Troy wouldn't let her. His lips were still attached to hers. Gabriella smirked before kissing back.

Gabriella felt Troy's tongue glide over the bottom of her lip, asking for entrance. Gabriella accepted and opened her mouth wide. Troy's tongue roamed all of Gabriella's mouth and then Gabriella's tongue touched his. Electricity shot up Troy's body and his tongue started to play with Gabriella's. Gabriella smiled into the kiss before closing her mouth and kissing his lips. She pulled back and then led her hands to the hem of Troy's polo. She caressed the skin that was covered by the bottom of the polo and then pulled the clothing over Troy's head. She threw the shirt on the ground before attacking Troy's lips with hers. Troy shivered at the breeze he felt when his shirt was off. It was soon warmed by Gabriella who trailed kisses down his torso.

Troy's breath hitched in his throat as Gabriella's magical hands started to caress his six pack. Troy moaned loudly as Gabriella smiled again his chest. She then went up to his pebble hard nipples and took on in her mouth. Troy groaned as Gabriella's tongue swirled around the nipple. Troy watched her, just as he was told, but he didn't know how long he could keep his eyes open. Gabriella bit Troy's nipple, teasingly and then went to the other one and did that same thing. When she was done with Troy's erected nipples she laced both hands on his breasts and looked up at Troy who was watching her.

"Good, you listened," Gabriella replied as she leaned up and pecked Troy's lips. She then went back down to Troy's chest and started to suck and nibble on parts of his body. Troy closed his eyes and sighed. She really knew how to make a guy pleasurable.

He stopped his breathing when he felt Gabriella's hands on the waistband of Troy's pants. Gabriella kissed the skin above the pants and slowly slid them off of Troy's body, her tongue licking every part of skin that was showing. Gabriella threw the pants on the ground and looked up at Troy who had his eyes closed. She smirked before starting to take off her own clothes. Troy eyes opened when he felt Gabriella wasn't doing anything to Troy's body. His eyes went over to Gabriella who was staring to pull her own shirt off. Troy grabbed her wrists to stop her and Gabriella looked at Troy confused.

"Allow me," Troy offered as he flipped them over so that he was on top.

He straddled Gabriella to the bed and then attacked her neck with his lips. Gabriella moaned as she felt Troy's mouth suck on her sweet spot. Damn, he found it fast. His mouth then trailed kisses down her long neck until it met the shirt on Gabriella's body. Troy went down to the hem of the shirt and started to peel the top off of Gabriella's body, leaving a braless Gabriella. Troy looked at her wide eyed and then felt his breathing become uneasy. They sure have gotten bigger than the last time he had saw them. Troy leaned down and took one of them in his mouth only to hear a moan escape Gabriella's mouth. Troy's tongue swirled around Gabriella's nipple and he occasionally bit them. Meanwhile, hi hand was massaging the other one. Every once in a while, Troy would pinch the nipple in his fingers, which made a moan come out from Gabriella's mouth. Troy then switched his actions to the other breast.

When Gabriella nipples were completely rock hard Troy went down and made a trail of kiss from the space between Gabriella's breasts to her belly button. Gabriella had her eyes closed due to the amount of pleasure she was feeling and then felt Troy's hands glide down to the waistband of her shorts. Troy slowly took the piece of clothing off of Gabriella's body, leaving her in only her thong. Troy saw that she was already wet and slowly started to caress her vagina through the material of her thong. Gabriella moaned loudly and her breathing became heavy. But before Troy could slide her thong off, Gabriella flipped them over so that she was on top.

Gabriella placed a long kiss on Troy's lips before going down to Troy's boxers and kissing the waistband. She then slowly started to pull the piece of clothing off of his body and saw his penis up high. Someone was happy to get attention. Gabriella smirked before going to and stroking Troy's member with her forefinger. Troy groaned as Gabriella added more pressure to her touch. She then leaned down and took him whole in her mouth. Troy's breathing got heavier and heavier and then he felt Gabriella cup his balls. Gabriella started to massage them and Troy moaned loudly.

"I'm…, going…, to…, come…., baby," Troy announced breathlessly as Gabriella started to suck on Troy's penis. She massaged her balls even harder and she sucked on Troy's tip and he finally came in Gabriella's mouth. Gabriella swallowed it and then went back up to Troy's lips and kissed them.

"That.., was…, amazing," Troy commented as he pulled away from the kiss. He then smirked before flipping them over so that he was on top.

Troy kissed Gabriella, lightly, before going down and stripping her panties off. Troy stared at her hot, wet, core and then started to stroke her cilt. Gabriella moaned softly before watching Troy take his fore finger and pump it into Gabriella's core. Gabriella moaned as Troy started to pump his finger in her hard and fast. He then added another finger which gave Gabriella more pleasure. Troy added one last finger and started to pump even harder than before which made Gabriella's hips buck up.

"I'm, almost… There," Gabriella moaned out. Gabriella's muscles clamped around Troy's fingers which meant she was very close. After a few more pumps Gabriella's sweet arousal covered Troy's fingers. Troy wiped them off on the bed sheet and then leaned over her body to grab a condom from the side drawer. When he finally found one, he took it out of the package. Gabriella then grabbed the condom from his hand and slid it on his shaft, which was now hard again.

"Ready?" Troy asked as Gabriella nodded. He then slowly slid into her. Gabriella's closed her eyes, tightly, and then she felt Troy stop.

"What did you stop?" Gabriella asked, breathlessly.

"In order to get what you want, you have to watch me with your eyes OPEN," Troy mimicked as Gabriella smirked at him.

"Fine," Gabriella added as she watched Troy closely.

Troy then slid down deeper into her. Gabriella felt her breath hitch in her throat. She then moved her hands up to Troy's shoulders to steady him. When Troy was finally inside Gabriella, he situated himself and started to thrust into her at a very slow pace.

"Uggh, Troy, faster," Gabriella moaned out. Troy started to go a faster and harder than before which made Gabriella moan. Troy moaned out as well and quickened his pace.

"Almost.., there," Troy announced as he continued his actions.

"Same…, here," Gabriella added as she moaned loudly. After a few more thrust, Gabriella and Troy finally came at the same time. Troy pulled himself out of Gabriella and then took the used condom off of his shaft. He then threw it in the trashcan and then turned back to Gabriella who was trying to catch her breath.

"That…, was…, amazing…," Gabriella and Troy replied, breathlessly, at the same time. That truly was amazing but so unexpected. I mean just a week ago Gabriella and Troy haven't talked much, yet even touched and today BAM! They have sex? Gabriella laid there deep in thought about what she and Troy had just done. Was it a mistake?


	9. Chapter 8

_~Eighth Chapter_

The next morning, Troy woke up to the sound of the alarm clock he had set in the middle of the night. Man, why did Gabriella have to be so damn sexy?! Troy rubbed his baggy eyes and then got out of the bed and headed towards the bathroom. When he turned on the bathroom light, he was a little afraid of the reflection he saw in the mirror. His hair was sweaty wet in some places and it was standing up in other places. He had a few hickeys on his neck and his body had a few droplets of water all around it. Troy sighed before heading over to the shower.

When Troy was finished getting ready, he put on his gray work suit with a white button up and black tie underneath **(Outfit on Profile).** He slipped on his black Prada work shoes and grabbed his briefcase before looking at the beautiful creature cuddled in the bed. Her hair was laid on the pillow above her and the cover were just above her breasts. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady. Troy slowly and quietly walked over to her and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. He then thought about the night he had last night with Gabriella. It sure was the biggest mistake he probably ever made but he would need to talk it over with Gabriella later. Troy then checked his clock and saw that he had only 30 minutes to get to work. He quickly removed his hand from Gabriella's face and made his way to the door. He took one last looked at Gabriella before sighing and continuing to make his way to his car.

Gabriella slowly stirred awake a couple of hours after Troy left. She slowly turned her head to the right, hoping Troy would be there, but only found the turned over covers instead. Gabriella breathed in deeply trying to cause the tears in her eyes from not falling. He wasn't even there after they had just made love to each other? He didn't even cuddle her after they had sex; he just rolled over and slept. He didn't make breakfast the next morning, he didn't leave a note for her and most importantly he never told her he loved her anytime after they had made love.

Gabriella felt a small drop of water fall from her eye and roll down her cheek. She quickly wiped it off and sat up in the bed. She looked over at the time. 11:00pm. She called a day off of work today, thinking she could do something special for her birthday today. But sadly, all her friends were back home in Albuquerque and they probably had plans for themselves today. After all, it was Friday which meant a lot of people would go out and do something with their friends. But Gabriella didn't, she just came home and cooked dinner. Gabriella shook off the thoughts and got out of bed to take a shower.

When Gabriella was finished getting ready, she got dressed in a nice purple blouse with some dark colored skinny jeans. She matched the outfit with her metallic brown flats and her black Balenciaga handbag **(Outfit on Profile)**. She looked at herself in the floor length mirror for a couple of seconds. Her hair was flowing down her shoulders and her eyes were Smokey. Her lips were glossy and shinny with a hint of red in them. She fluffed her hair before going downstairs to the garage to do some shopping. If she couldn't have any friends to celebrate her birthday with, she mine as well go to the next best thing, shopping.

Meanwhile, Troy was working on a few of his cases until something popped up in his head. Today was a special day for him and Gabriella so he needed to celebrate it. Hmm, he didn't have a case tomorrow so he should at least throw a party for today. Troy picked up the phone and called a few people he knew would want to come to this party tonight.

With Gabriella, she had just eaten lunch at a nice little café. She was now prepared for a full day of shopping. She was filled up with food, she had the correct shoes to walk blocks in and a wallet full of money stuffed in her bag. Gabriella smiled to herself before walking into Gucci.

3 hours later, Gabriella had 2 bags in each of her hands. Behind her were some men carrying some of her bags to her car. She had spent over $30,000 dollars today on clothes and shoes. She had brought a few new designer bags, which costed her about $50,000. It was not a cheap shopping spree today. She probably didn't need to shop anymore until the next five years. She had more than enough money left from her little shopping trip. She was a doctor, which meant she made a lot of money and since she lived with a world famous lawyer, she didn't need to worry about paying the bills or anything. She also didn't have kids, yet, which also meant all her money was HER money. Gabriella opened her trunk and the back seat doors. The men piled all her stuff into the space and Gabriella put the bags in her hands' in the passenger's seat, along with her handbag, and made her way to the drivers side. When The guys have finished putting the stuff in her car, Gabriella gave them a $50 tip to each of them and drove off back home.

At home, Gabriella noticed Troy was home an hour earlier than usual. 'That's weird', Gabriella thought as she parked her car in the garage. Gabriella got out of her car and grabbed a few of many bags from her back seat and made her way inside. There, she saw an empty living room. She walked further into the house and checked the kitchen. Still no sign of Troy. She then walked to his office and was surprised to see him not there. Gabriella did notice there was a note on his desk and she walked over and picked it up. It read: Don't forget to set up for party tonight! Gabriella broke out in a huge grin and dropped the note on the desk. Troy was throwing a party for her! Or at least that's what she thought. What if this was another trap set for Gabriella, making her look like a fool again. Gabriella then read further down the note and it read: Be sure to tell Gabriella! Gabriella smiled at that part. Now she knew that it was a party for her. He remembered her birthday! Gabriella ran out of the office and ran all over the house trying to find Troy.

Meanwhile, Troy was in his bathroom plucking out a few of his nose hairs. He needed to look good for tonight. He hasn't had a party in ages and tonight he could party hard with no worries about work. Well, at least for a couple of hours. He needed to go to a meeting with a few clients tomorrow afternoon but that was tomorrow so he shook it off. He then heard footsteps come into the master bedroom and stopped what he was doing. He put down the tweezers and looked outside the door, but then saw Gabriella run towards him with her arms in the air. They quickly wrapped around Troy's neck pulling him close to her. Troy was shocked by this action and didn't even hug back.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Troy asked, confusingly as Gabriella smiled widely up at him.

"Hugging you silly," Gabriella answered in a 'duh' tone.

"I know but why are you hugging me?" Troy asked.

"Because you're AMAZING!" Gabriella answered as she hugged Troy tighter. Troy looked at her weirdly and then cleared his throat, indicating that he was uncomfortable. Gabriella understood what he met and immediately let go.

"Sorry," Gabriella murmured as she looked away from Troy. Troy fixed his jacket he was wearing before turning back to Gabriella.

"It's fine," Troy coughed as he went back to plucking his nose hairs out.

"Uh, okay well I'll just go," Gabriella announced as she made her way to the door.

"Oh, by the way I'm throwing a party tonight," Troy added as he looked up at Gabriella.

"I know, I saw the note on your desk," Gabriella smiled as she put her hand on the knob.

"Okay, well go get dressed or something," Troy said as he continued to pluck his nose hairs. Gabriella smiled as she left the bathroom and headed for her closet to get ready.

When Gabriella was finished getting ready, which took about two hours to do so, she was dressed in a purple dress that had a deep V-neck. It had ruffles on the V-neck and she matched the dress with some black gladiator heels **(Outfit on Profile). **Her hair was down and flowing off her shoulders and her eyes were dark. She had lip gloss on and she had a gold necklace around her neck. She took one look in the mirror and smiled. She hoped she looked good for her guests. But all she wanted to know was who Troy invited to her party? I mean he didn't know any of her co-workers and he couldn't have called her family and friends back in New Mexico?

Gabriella shook off the thoughts knowing that Troy probably invited some of his friends' or something. She then heard footsteps enter the master bedroom and looked over to see Troy. He was wearing some black skinny jeans, a white T-shirt with a dark brown jacket over it and some black converses **(It's like what Zac wore on the movie poster of 17 again). **Troy looked up and down at Gabriella and then looked back at her eyes. Gabriella felt her breathing stop and she walked closer to Troy.

"How do I look?" Gabriella asked as she looked down at her dress.

"Eh, good enough, now let's go down to the party. Some of the guests have already arrived," Troy answered as he walked out the door, leaving Gabriella. Good enough? What the hell does that mean? Is that just a nice way to say that she didn't look good? Gabriella forgot about the comment Troy made and walked down the stairs to her party.

Downstairs, Gabriella could see a HUGE amount of people all cluttered up by the foyer. Why are they all by the front door? We have a whole house to fill! Gabriella then took a look down the hallway and saw even more people squished in the pathway. Gabriella's jaw dropped. How many people did Troy invite?! Not THIS many people would want to come to her party. Gabriella continued her way down the stairs until she reached the ground. She then made her way through the crowds of people, trying to find Troy.

"Excuse me, sorry," Gabriella yelled through the crowd as she weaved her way through them. She crashed into a few people in the hallway but she ignored what they had to say afterwards, though. If they wanted to bash her, fine, but they just have to remember that they were in HER house so if it continues she could just kick them out.

"Troy! Troy, where are you?!" Gabriella yelled as she walked into the kitchen, where multiple drinks were placed on the island counter.

Gabriella took one of the beers on the counter and continued on her journey to find Troy. She walked into the living room, only to hear music blaring though her ears. There were a bunch of people dancing on the floor and the lights were dimmed down. Gabriella made her way through the dancing people and tried to find Troy, again.

"Troy! Troy where-," Gabriella started to say until she found Troy. He was dancing in the living room floor with three other girls around him. They were dancing very closely and grinding into Troy like a drill. That was closer than Gabriella wanted. Gabriella felt a hint of bitterness and made her way over to Troy and the three dancing girls.

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed as she put her arm on Troy's shoulder. She then turned him around harshly as glared into his eyes.

"Whoa, Gabriella," Troy added as he removed Gabriella's hand from his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Troy questioned as he caught her glaring at him like a lion wanting to eat its prey.

"What's wrong? Why were you letting those girls grind against you?!" Gabriella scolded as she whacked Troy's arm, hard.

"Hey! I was just having fun," Troy defended, his anger rising.

"Well, you do remember you have a wife now, right?!" Gabriella reminded as she showed him her wedding ring on her left hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Why don't you go and mingle or something?" Troy suggested as he rubbed Gabriella's back, soothingly, trying to calm her down. Gabriella closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I would, but I don't know ANY of these people," Gabriella explained as she looked around at the crowds of people.

"Oh, these are just a few of my friends and co-workers," Troy stated.

"Well, is there anyone here I know that you DID invite?" Gabriella asked, looking around.

"Uh, not really," Troy admitted as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, why would you invite YOUR friends and co-workers to my party?" Gabriella asked.

"Uh, it's our party, remember?" Troy answered.

"What? I don't recall of this being OUR party?" Gabriella questioned.

"Well, it's to celebrate my promotion. It benefits you by knowing that you get more money! And so do I! Get it?" Troy explained. And that's all it took to make Gabriella's world turn upside down.

**Authors Note: Oooo, Troy is an ass hole. Haha! Sorry I didn't update in a while but I was on Vaca! Yay! Anyways i will be SURE to update either tonight or tomorrow so look out for the next one! And who else saw Bandslam? I saw it yesterday and it was truly AMAZING! Go see it if you haven't and help Vanessa top the box office!**


	10. Chapter 9

_~Ninth Chapter_

Gabriella stood there in complete shock for the next couple of seconds. She didn't care if tears were running out of her eyes like a baby. She didn't care that people around her were looking at her strangely. All she cared about was the fact that she got fooled TWICE by Troy! How could she fall for it again? Gosh, she is stupid. Troy looked at her confusingly and then shook her body to get her out of her thoughts.

"Gabriella, people are looking at us," Troy pointed out as he shook her. Gabriella quickly snapped back into reality and got out of Troy's grip, harshly. She then turned around on her heels and stomped upstairs to her room.

Troy was shocked by this action. What did he do? All he did was throw a party? Gosh, woman are so confusing, especially Gabriella! What the hell was her problem? Troy shook off the thoughts of Gabriella and returned back into reality where he was hosting a HUGE party.

Gabriella slammed the door behind her and laid her back on the cool wood door. She closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face. She let her body slide down the door until she landed on the floor. All she could think about was the fact that her own HUSBAND forgot her birthday! Her birthday was completely forgotten! It was like she never had one! Just then, the house phone rang. Gabriella wiped the running mascara off her cheeks and went over to the side table to answer the phone.

"Hello?" Gabriella asked, holding the phone to her ear.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY GABRIELLA!" Gabriella heard on the other line. Gabriella broke out in a huge smile. At least someone remembered.

"Who is this?" Gabriella asked, stupidly.

"Oh, shut up, you know who it is. It's Sharpay, Megan, Hayden, Chace, Ryan and your parents!" Sharpay answered as Gabriella giggled. Gosh, she missed her perky, pink-loving friend.

"Hey guys! Thanks so much for the message," Gabriella added.

"Oh, no problem! It is your birthday, who could forget something like this?" Gabriella's mom replied.

"Oh, I know someone who forgot," Gabriella mumbled.

"Huh? What did you say Gabriella?" Gabriella's mom asked.

"Nothing, anyways where are you guys anyway?" Gabriella asked back.

"We're all at my house having a little party for you! And since you couldn't be here, we have a cardboard cutout of you!" Sharpay explained as Gabriella laughed.

"Aww, thanks guys!" Gabriella commented.

"So, what did Troy get you for your birthday?" Gabriella's mom asked. 'Nothing' was the answer Gabriella thought of but then she thought of another answer. It she said nothing, her mom will get worried and ask her to come back home. Or even worse, share her feelings. Gabriella then sighed, quietly, before answering.

"He got me a, uh, beautiful diamond bracelet," Gabriella lied, hoping her friends and family would believe her.

"Awww!" Is what Gabriella heard from the other line. Gabriella sighed in relief. They believed it!

"Yeah, so did you guys send your gifts yet?" Gabriela teased.

"Aww, sweetie, don't play stupid! Of course we sent gifts! They should be coming tomorrow!" Sharpay answered.

"Thank you so much guys!" Gabriella replied.

"Like we said, it's no problem Hun. But now go back and have some fun with Troy on your birthday!" Sharpay added.

"Well, uh," Gabriella stammered. She didn't want to tell her friends and family that she had absolutely nothing to do on her birthday except sit in her bedroom and talk to them all night. Even if she wanted to do that, she couldn't because then they would get worried about her.

"Okay, well I'll call you guys later then. Bye!" Gabriella said as she hung up the phone. She then heard footsteps down the hall and got up from her bed and walked closer to the door. A few seconds later her bedroom door slammed open, reveling a woman and man kissing each other, almost like making out. Okay, they were completely making out and Gabriella was disgusted.

"Get the hell out of my room!" Gabriella exclaimed as the couple looked up at her, angrily. Gabriella pointed them to the exit and eventually they left. Gabriella rolled her eyes before going to the bathroom to fix her make-up.

When Gabriella was done with fixing her make-up, she looked as good as new. She didn't exactly know what she was going to do now, but come on! It was her birthday! She had to do something! But why would she do it alone. Gabriella then looked over in the corner of the bedroom and smiled. Who said money can't buy happiness?

Gabriella grabbed her handbag, car keys and wallet and dashed out the front door without anyone noticing. She went inside her car and drove off to the nearest strip mall.

When Gabriella arrived at the strip mall she walked to the nearest store. She just picked up the expensivest items in the store that she liked. She didn't care how much she spent or how much she would get. Plus, it wasn't even her money… (;

Once Gabriella was done shopping at most of the stores she was walking down the block, trying to find more expensive stores. She stopped at a certain shop that caught her eye and went inside the store.

In the store Gabriella walked over to the front desk and asked to see someone who worked there. When she was helped by a man, he went to show Gabriella some of the models they had. A few hours later, Gabriella had spent $200,000 at the store. Do you want to know what she had bought? She bought a new Audi R8. It was sleek, black and most importantly fast. She sold her old car to the company and got this car to drive. She paid for it in full, with Troy's money of course. Now she needed one last thing to fulfill her birthday needs. She drove off to the nearest cake shop in the city.

When Gabriella got home, which was at about 11:30pm, she saw that people were still in her house. Not as many as before and a few more people were leaving. Gabriella parked her car in the driveway, grabbed her shopping bags and exited the car. Inside the house, Gabriella swung the front door open, only to find all eyes on her. She gave the people a smirk before walking down the hallway, through the path cleared for her. Her heels clicking on the shinny wood floors caught everyone's attention, including Troy's. Gabriella walked to the kitchen counter and pushed all the drinks onto the floor. She then walked back over to the front door to call someone in.

"Hey, Lary! You can come in and put it in the kitchen!" Gabriella yelled as three different guys came in carrying a LARGE box. Everyone inside the house was looking at the box, curious about what was in it. Gabriella smiled at the box as the guys put it on the kitchen counter. Gabriella tipped all of them before going to the top and untying the box.

When the box was off, it revealed a three layer cake. It had all different kinds of colored frosting on it. The bottom layer had pink frosting on it with a yellow strip at the top with a daisy design. The middle layer was green with orange polka dots on it. And the very top layer was half orange and half yellow. It had a blur trimming at the top and a single candle on the tip top of the cake **(Cake on Profile)**

Gabriella grinned at the cake. This was HER own birthday cake. Of course, she couldn't eat it all so she mine as well share it with Troy's "friends". Or maybe even throw it away. Gabriella then saw Troy shuffle through the crowds of people until he finally got to her.

"What the hell is this?" Troy asked as he looked at the cake.

"It's a cake," Gabriella answered, dumbly, which only made Troy roll his eyes.

"I know it's a cake but WHY did you bring it into the house?" Troy asked.

"Because I bought it at the bakery and I wanted to eat it!" Gabriella answered.

"Gabriella! I meant why did you buy a cake?! Why would you need one!?" Troy exclaimed.

"Why don't you go figure it out yourself," Gabriella scoffed. Troy glared at her and was about to speak until Gabriella closed her eyes and blew out the candle on top. He then heard someone call his name from down the hall.

"Troy! Man, where are you? Have you seen what's in your driveway?!" Troy's co-worker asked in disbelief. Troy looked at him confusingly while Gabriella just laughed silently.

"What do you mean? What's in my driveway?" Troy asked as he walked to the front door with a smirking Gabriella following.

When Troy got to the front door, he looked out of it and to the driveway. His jaw dropped in disbelief. In his driveway was THE Audi R8 that was stored in an Audi dealership. It was customized to perfection and drove as smooth as ice. There, it was glistening in his driveway with the roof down. Troy looked back at Gabriella, who was just standing there looking at Troy, smirking.

"What the hell is that?!" Troy yelled as Gabriella looked at him.

"THAT is my new car," Gabriella answered calmly as Troy looked at her in shock.

"Why did you buy a new car?!" Troy asked as Gabriella stayed calm.

"To drive?" Gabriella answered, in a 'duh' tone.

"Gabriella, really, why did you buy a car?" Troy asked, in a low voice. His eyes had fire in them and Gabriella could tell he was VERY angry at her but she still stayed calm.

"Like I said before, you go figure it out," Gabriella added as she began walking away. But Troy grabbed her arm quickly and pulled her to face him. He may not notice how strong his grip was but Gabriella's arm was losing circulation.

"Who's money did you buy this car with?" Troy asked.

"Well, since I don't make millions of dollars like you I bought it with your money," Gabriella answered harshly. She was furious at the grip Troy had on her.

"My money? You bought it with the money I earned?! The money I worked for?!" Troy questioned, angrily.

"Yes! Okay! I bought it with your fucking money!" Gabriella yelled as she ripped her arm out of Troy's grip. She then started to head up the stairs until she heard Troy speak.

"Hey! Gabriella, get you fucking ass back here!" Troy exclaimed as he grabbed Gabriella's arm, tightly and pulled her down the stairs. Gabriella winced at his grip and then looked into his eyes with burning anger.

"Let go of me you jack ass," Gabriella said, in a low voice as Troy just tightened his grip. He wasn't going to let go anytime soon. Gabriella could feel her arm getting bruised by the second so she brought her knee up and kneed Troy in a place where men shouldn't be touched.

Troy let go of Gabriella's arm immediately and went to his throbbing penis. Did Gabriella just knee my dick?! Troy fell down on the floor and closed his eyes in pain. Gabriella just looked at him, satisfied with what she had just done. She gave him a glare before looking around at the people staring at her.

"Now all of you better get the hell out of my house before I call the cops to do so," Gabriella yelled, harshly as everyone stared at her in fear. They then dropped what they were doing, gathered their things and exited the house.


	11. Chapter 10

_~Chapter 10_

Gabriella sighed in relief once everyone was gone. She then looked down at the ground and saw Troy closing his eyes in pain, holding onto his penis. Gabriella took a deep breath and then thought to herself. Should she go and help him? After all she did blow all of his money on a car she really didn't need. But he deserved it! He was being a major ass hole to her! Treating her like dirt on the ground. Gabriella then remembered something her own parents had said to her. You always have to be the bigger person. But should she? Gabriella stood there on the stair's step and deep in thought but it was soon over when she heard Troy groan in pain. Gabriella looked over at him, annoyed and watched as Troy tried to get up with the help of the side table.

"Do you need help?" Gabriella offered. It may be a nice thing to do but Gabriella's voice was harsh and cold. Troy looked over at her, pain in his eyes due to his throbbing penis.

"No," Troy muttered angrily, due to the pain and the fact that his wife just kneed him in the balls. Gabriella threw her hands in the air and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, whatever," Gabriella replied, annoyed. She then walked up the stairs and went over to her bedroom. Troy watched Gabriella leave and sighed. What the hell was her deal?! She thinks she could just spend HIS money, carelessly? Troy shook off the thought and limped over to the great room's couch. Welcome to his bed for the night.

The next day, Gabriella had to wake up early, due to the fact she had to work extra early today. If she wanted to get some of her work done, she would have to do it sooner or later. Gabriella rolled out of bed and went down the stairs to prepare her coffee before she did anything else. She didn't need a cold shower to wake her up, nor, a nice refreshing face wash, what she needed was her coffee before she died of tiredness.

Gabriella walked down the stairs, groggily, and rubbed her eyes. Damn, she needed her coffee fast before she fell down the stairs head first. When she reached the bottom step of the back stairwell, she walked into the kitchen only to see Troy standing there over the sink gulping down, what it seemed to look like, two pills of Advil. Gabriella glanced over at him, quickly, before going to the cabinet and pulling out the coffee maker. She plugged the device into an outlet and went over to the cupboard to get the coffee grinds. Troy put the glass of water he had in his hand down and looked over at Gabriella. She was over by the coffee maker, preparing the well needed drink for them both. Gabriella quickly caught Troy staring at her and looked over at him also. Their eyes locked together, blue meeting brown, but was soon over when Gabriella's gaze towards Troy turned into a death glare. It was pretty obvious she was still mad at him for a reason Troy has not yet discovered. Troy just stared at her, annoyed and angry, before looking away and grabbing the box of Advil tablets with him, in one swift movement.

Gabriella watched as Troy pounded his feet against the floor of the kitchen, not daring to look back over at Gabriella. Gabriella huffed angrily before slamming the box of coffee grinds down on the counter and violently started to put some of it into the coffee maker. He thinks he can be mad at her?! He hasn't even been through half the amount of pain she has been through! Troy glanced at her over his shoulder, and saw she was just as pissed as he was. He then caught Gabriella taking a mug from underneath the counter and slamming it down onto the table. The glass mug shattered into millions of tiny pieces as Gabriella stepped away from the fountain of broken glass falling down onto the ground.

"Shit!" Gabriella cursed, loudly, before looking at Troy who had a smirk wiped across his face. Gabriella saw him smirk an pointed at him, violently.

"Wipe that fucking smirk off your face, Bolton!" Gabriella yelled towards Troy. Troy's smirk turned into an even wider smirk. Gabriella glared in his direction, which seemed to be the only look she had been giving Troy.

"You better clean your mess up," Troy added, walking away from the kitchen. Gabriella let out an irritated shirk before running over to the cleaning supply closet and grabbing a broom and a dust pan.

When Gabriella was just about to head off to work, she was in the kitchen sipping down her coffee while searching for her new car keys. She was dressed in a black Marc Jacobs V-neck, some black skinny jeans and her Christian Louboutin stilettos **(Outfit on Profile). **She had on her violet Louis Vuitton scarf and across her petite body was a black channel crossover tote. She opened one of the kitchen drawers and checked for her keys but no luck. She heard footsteps stumble into the kitchen and she looked over to the doorway. There stood Troy, looking sexy in a black sleek suit **(Outfit on Profile). **His hair was hanging over the side of his face and he had his customized Ralph Lauren suitcase in his hand.

Troy walked into the room to grab his coffee. He saw Gabriella standing by the kitchen counter, searching for a particular item. She was opening drawers, and then slamming them shut. Troy went over to a cupboard and grabbed his traveling mug and filled it up with coffee. He was so distracted by the constant slamming of drawers; he spilled coffee on his new suit. Troy slammed down his coffee mug and layed his suitcase on the kitchen counter. He then looked over at Gabriella who didn't even notice Troy.

"What the fuck are you doing, Gabriella?!" Troy exclaimed as Gabriella looked at him, shocked. His tie had a dark smudge on it, while his face had on an angry look.

"What's your problem?" Gabriella scoffed as she stopped what she was doing.

"You made me spill coffee on my new $1, 250 Givenchy tie!" Troy pointed out, showing his stain.

"God, Troy! You're such a girl! Who cares about your damn tie!" Gabriella bellowed as she took a step near Troy.

"Well, I'm sorry some of us can't go to work wearing shit like you, but if I have stains on my wardrobe clients will NOT take me seriously!" Troy cried. Gosh, Gabriella was getting on his last nerves!

"Oh, yeah, I do wear shit to work! You should know! You bought me this outfit!" Gabriella pointed out.

"Why don't you just go to work all ready!?" Troy yelled, frustrated.

"As much as I want to be as far away from you as possible, I can't find my car keys!" Gabriella shouted.

"You mean your new car keys? Oh, yeah, I took them," Troy said, now in a normal tone of voice. He dug into his pants pockets and pulled out the car keys.

"Give them to me now," Gabriella ordered, coldly.

"No, I bought the car, therefore I drive it," Troy added, smirking.

"Troy, just give them to me now," Gabriella ordered one last time, but Troy didn't budge. He just shook his head and held up the car keys in front of Gabriella's face.

"Tuff luck," Troy added, smirking. He then shoved the keys back into his pocket and took a sip of his coffee.

"Now, how am I supposed to get to work?!" Gabriella exclaimed, walking towards Troy.

"Hmm, I guess you didn't think this situation over," Troy muttered, walking over to the sink to rinse the stain off.

"Troy, seriously, I need to get to work, now," Gabriella replied, worried about her situation. She was already late multiple times this year. Who knows what her boss is going to do if she's going to be late, again?

"Call a cab," Troy suggested, blankly. Gabriella looked at Troy shocked and surprised. Did he just tell her to call a cab?! Where was the old Troy?

"What happened to you Troy?" Gabriella questioned, hurt and confused. Troy looked at her weirdly.

"What?" Troy asked Gabriella, as if she was crazy.

"You act like I'm just a person who lives here, someone who you shouldn't have to worry about. I'm not your maid or a person who you can just totally ignore. Do you even remember December 19th, 2008?" Gabriella questioned as Troy looked down, sadly. He didn't even care to answer Gabriella's question.

"You don't remember, do you?" Gabriella questioned, hurt.

"No, I remember," Troy mumbled, looking at Gabriella.

"Prove it," Gabriella instructed.

"It, it w-was the day I proposed to you," Troy answered.

"And?" Gabriella urged on.

"And the d-day we got married," Troy stammered.

"So, you do remember," Gabriella pointed out.

"Why wouldn't I?" Troy questioned, finally locking eyes with Gabriella.

"Well, I sure don't get the vibe that you do remember," Gabriella added, staring back at Troy. She felt a tear streak down her face and she quickly wiped it away.

"I'll just go call a cab," Gabriella announced, as she looked back down at her feet. Troy watched as she walked out of the kitchen, her tears falling against the ground of the room.

**Authors Note: I'm soooo sorry I haven't updated in a lonnggg time! I don't have any excuses except that I have school but that doesn't count for anything. I was really stuck on what should happen next so I apologize, again. But please don't stop reading the story because I can't update fast enough! It's a great story and you shouldn't give up on it! And just saying, but this story is almost done… ): Just a few more chapters left…. But hey, would you guys want a sequel? (: **


	12. Chapter 11

**Authors Note: Long time, no update I see… [; Please be patient you guys! I have school, homework, tests etc. and I just don't have time anymore! I got a few comments saying people will give up hope on this story and all I have to say is fine. Do what you want to do! I'm not forcing you to read my story. If it was supposed to be some kind of threat for me to update, it didn't work. My computer crashed and I am doing really bad in this one class so I need to bring my grade up. More info on updates to my other stories on my profile… Enjoy this chapter! (: **

* * *

___Eleventh Chapter_

Gabriella walked back towards the entrance/foyer of the household, her heels clicking as she took each step. Tears fell out of her eyes freely now, and landed on the hardwood floors. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and started to search the yellow pages for a number on a taxi or even limo. She didn't care what it was, she just needed to get to work and then come back home. Her sobs echoed the halls of the house and her tears felt as though they were pounding down to the floor. She didn't even understand why she was crying. It's not like Troy hasn't done this sort of thing to Gabriella before. Refuse to do anything for her because he was so worried about his job. Nothing made sense anymore to her and Troy just disgusted her with his attitude towards anything except his stupid job. Did he even wonder about the pain he had put her in throughout the past year?

~*~*~*

Troy stood in the kitchen alone, his face emotionless and completely drained from what had just happened between him and Gabriella. Why did she want him to remember their wedding? Or remember the day they got married? Girls were so confusing to understand. But Gabriella was like mood-swing central. One day, they'll be fighting and the next they won't even be talking to each other. Or during a fight, sometimes Gabriella would fight back and act all bitchy or she would just begin to cry. He couldn't keep up with her different emotions! What man could?! What had he even done to her?!

That's when Troy heard soft sobs and talking from the hallway just another room over. Quietly, he took small steps towards the noise and saw Gabriella's figure standing by the front door. He back was turned to him, while her phone was against her ear. Small puddle of water were formed around her while she tried her best not to sob into the phone like a baby.

"Yes, Thanks you," Was all Troy could hear from Gabriella's mouth. Troy watched as Gabriella put her phone back in her pocket and turned herself around to face Troy.

Troy's mouth went dry at her appearance. Her cheeks were stained with tear, while her eyes looked as if they bulged out of her eye socket. Her clothes were a tad wet while her hair was slightly messed up. He knew that if his damn mouth kept shut, she would be in a happier mood then what she was in right now. But what could Troy do now? Nothing. The damage was done when he told Gabriella to go get a cab on her own because he wasn't willing to give her a ride. If he changed his mind and told her he would take her to work, she would get angrier depending on her mood-swing because both of them knew it would only be because Troy was giving Gabriella his pity.

So, instead of confronting Gabriella and talking everything out, the famous Bolton move was to forget about it and move on. And that was exactly what Troy did. Troy walked more into the hallway as if it looked like he was going to walk towards Gabriella; but instead, he went over to the hallway closet, pulled out his dark, wool coat and headed towards the front door. Within seconds, Troy slammed the door behind him and just as Troy slammed the door, Gabriella's heart shattered in her body.

~*~*~*

Later that day, Troy returned back home from work early that day because all he had to do was attend a meeting. He finished most of his work at his office, working on a new case, but he returned home when he became tired.

You would think that Troy would've been the slightest guilty about what had happened that morning, when he left Gabriella to go to work, but he didn't. He had other important things to think about than his own love life. His job was his life, and if he was just the tiniest bit off he knew he would get behind in work. So that's why he was centered around it while he could, because he was just one more promotion away not being able to be fired. It was his dream to have a guaranteed job for the rest of his life that pays well and has perks such as being able to fly for free in first class, or sometimes even on the company private jet.

Troy parked his 'new' car in the driveway and then walked over to the household to find the door unlocked. He opened the door, quietly, stepping in and walking over towards the kitchen. There, ne noticed a very large box placed on the kitchen counter and eyed it curiously. He didn't remember ordering something? Maybe it was for Gabriella. Walking over towards the box, Troy took a peek inside of it.

In the inside, it held several multi-colored presents wrapped n ribbons, bows and many colored strings. Troy looked at the inside of the box confused, and soon enough he found himself pulling a few of the presents out to reveal a card lying at the bottom of the package. He picked up the small card, which read Gabriella's name on the front, and scrunched his eyebrows. Who sent this?

Picking up the card out of its envelope, Troy's mouth fell wide open as the card was revealed. On the front it read 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' in big colorful letters. When was Gabriella's birthday? Troy then gasped finally figuring out everything that had happened the night before.

That night, Gabriella came home excited and even ran up to Troy and hugged him, asking him about the party he was throwing. Why? Because it was her birthday and she had thought the party was supposed to be for her. God, he was a jerk! He didn't even realize why Gabriella was saddened when he told he about the real reason for the party. He didn't even care to comfort her or tell her his lame reasoning. He didn't give her and present and worst of all, he didn't even notice it was her birthday. Opening the card to view the inside, he quickly read the card to himself in his head.

_Dear Gabriella, _

_ We hope you have a nice birthday today. We are very pleased to see you grow up into the young lady we had raised you to be. You're smart, kind to others, and very passionate about everything you do. Not only are we lucky to call you our daughter, or friend, but we are very lucky to be the ones you will always come back to when you face problems in your life. We are terribly sorry we can't be there in person for your birthday and we hope you had a fun time partying without us, if possible. As always, we send our blessing and love towards you every day and always remember you can come to us for anything._

_ Love, Mom, Dad, Sharpay, __Megan, Hayden, Chace, and Ryan. _

Troy felt a small pain of guilt just thinking about if he was Gabriella. The pain and sadness he had put her through was far more than he expected it to be. He was still surprised Gabriella hasn't even told him about her birthday? I mean, I know it was something he should remember on his own but couldn't she understand he can't focus on anything but work?

Just then, Troy heard footsteps coming down the hall and slowly turned his head towards the doorway to find Gabriella there. She was wearing her favorite white shorts tat cut off to her thigh and her old LA Lakers jersey that fit her body almost perfectly. Troy remembered he had given that jersey to her at their first Lakers game together, and it was especially special because on the back it had her last name written on it with the number 19 because it was the day they got married.

She just gave him a small, yet sad, nod before turning away and walking towards the living room. Troy quickly dropped the card on the kitchen counter before running over towards the living room , where Gabriella was. She was throwing some pillows over to the other side of the couch, trying to find a spot to sit, while the TV blared in the background. Quickly, Troy shot towards her direction.

"Happy Birthday," Troy replied, sheepishly, as Gabriella froze in place, her back facing towards him.

"What?" Gabriella muttered in disbelief. The day AFTER her birthday he realizes it's her birthday?!

"I saw the presents and the card in the kitchen," Troy confessed, closing his eyes to see just how stupid he sounded.

"So, if you haven't seen any of those things, you wouldn't have known it was my birthday?" Gabriella questioned, her anger rising slowly, yet dangerously.

"Well…," Troy trailed off, not finding the right thing he was supposed to say at a time like this.

"You're some husband," Gabriella mumbled, pissed, as she sat her butt down on the sofa cushion.

"I know I'm late but-," Troy began saying but Gabriella snapped her head towards Troy and glared towards him.

"But what?" Gabriella hissed, her words containing venom in every letter.

"But please don't be mad at me. I have many things to worry about like-," Troy started to say, but realizing what he had just said made him want to rewind and take it back. It didn't sound too good coming from himself.

"Like what, huh? Work? It's only obvious you forget about everything EXCEPT work!" Gabriella exclaimed, her eyes turning black with anger.

"Gabriella… That's not true," Troy added as Gabriella gave him a death glare.

"It's NOT true, huh? Do you even know the last time you had EVER paid attention to me?" Gabriella asked, proving a point in a sneaky, yet angry way.

"We just 'spent time' together a few days ago," Troy answered, referring to their one night where they had sex.

"Oh, yeah, that. Do you know what another term for sex is Troy? Oh, that's right, making love," Gabriella added as Troy stayed silent.

"Is sex just fun and games for you? That ONE night we had had sex meant… It meant everything to me. It made me feel important in your life again, but then, the next morning when I found myself alone…. I knew it meant nothing to you," Gabriella murmured, on the edge of tears. She quickly turned away from Troy, not able to control her tears anymore, and let them fall freely. Troy heard her sobs, though and took a step towards her, resting his hand on her back.

"Gabriella. Please don't cry," Troy soothed, but Gabriella took in a deep breath before, tearing her body from his grip and walking away.


End file.
